Payment
by Scarfia
Summary: AU Post-TLC Artemis has already discovered the price of his actions, but the question remains what will he have to pay with. Artemis/Holly Companion piece to Price.
1. Butler's Mistake

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl

Also, if you haven't read my other story Price you really should because this will make almost no sense otherwise.

Payment

The dawn air was cool and dry against Artemis's skin. He hung suspended in space attached to Holly's moonbelt. Wrapped around him was a piece of camfoil that Foaly had provided. They said nothing to each other, for there was nothing that could really be said.

Taking in a deep breath Artemis closed his eyes trying to memorize the scents of the Earth. Fresh grass clippings from the Fowl Manor. He breathed out. They soared on past fields towards the city. Workaholics scurried back and forth from their favorite coffee shop. Another breath. Smoke and the smell of cheap baked goods.

Artemis slowly opened his eyes. The memory of his past flights made his stomach flop nervously. He forced himself to look down. After all, who knew how long it would be until he could see the surface again.

It was beautiful.

The surface of the Earth pulsed with life. Colors swam in his vision. And the sensation of being above it all, to be simply soaring, was unbelievable. He felt rather like he had when he had first done magic. With a jolt he realized that his fairy instincts were taking over. Though, he considered as Holly went suddenly into a dive, this wasn't so bad. He whooped along with her as the wind rushed past their exhilarated faces.

So this was what she got from flying. Curious.

Holly laughed at Artemis as they began to descend. "What do you know? Looks like you got your wings after all Fowl. Took you long enough."

"Yeah." Said Artemis. " I suppose I did." His face gained an arrogant look. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Holly discreetly made sure that they were a safe distance above the surface. Then, she pretended to think for a moment. "Well..." She loosened the straps on the moonbelt and Artemis tumbled to the ground. He landed in an extremely undignified position.

A few birds flew away in fright from her high-pitched laughter.

Artemis got to his feet and brushed away the dirt on his suit. His face was flushed with embarrassment. Luckily for him a distraction would arrive that would wipe the smile from her face. Or realistically, it would at least get her to stop laughing for the next few moments.

The ground opened and a disembodied head poked it way out. Foaly's head smiled cheerfully at them. "Like it Mud- uh, Artemis? I call it a Holo-ball. It's completely self-sufficient power wise." A carrot came out of nowhere and Foaly bit into it nervously. "The actual physical structure is no larger than a marble."

Artemis winced at the mistake. Pushing the unpleasant thoughts away he recovered his old self. "Very intriguing. I hope you'll let me examine at it more closely later."

"Of course." Said the centaur, trying to avoid Holly's death glare. He had limited success. "Now, to business." The head glanced down at what was presumably his hands typing. A sleek LEP craft rose above the hole in ground.

Foaly cleared his throat apologetically. "In return for the chance for Holly and I to attempt a voluntary retrieval, the Counsel _requested_," he rolled his eyes at this, "that this statement be read at your arrival at the chute. 'The Fairy Counsel wishes to greet Mister Artemis Fowl and welcome him to Haven. He is to understand that he is now classified as a fairy and that he is to abide by all of our rules and regulations. If he objects, he may discuss his complaints with the Counsel in court. We wish him the best of luck.' "

Holly snorted. "Best of luck? Ha! Yeah, right. And Mulch is really a sprite in disguise."

A small moment of silence descended slowly on them.

" Well," said Holly finally. "Shall we?" She popped open the door to the shuttle and went inside. Foaly or at least his projection followed her. Taking one last deep breath, Artemis followed.

As he stepped into the shuttle he tried not to think of what this meant. He didn't want to stop and consider all that he was leaving behind. But seeing how this was Artemis Fowl, he did. He thought about his family and how distraught they'd be. He thought of how he had nearly lost his parents before and how the magic that had brought them back together was breaking them apart.

He thought of Butler, the man who had been taking care of him since the day he was born and the twins who would never know their older brother. Minerva briefly entered his mind. But only for a second.

The doors slid shut behind him and the shuttle flew down to Haven.

888

The Fowl Manor's front steps sparkled impressively as the morning sun rose slowly into its accustomed spot in the sky. All of the windows were scrubbed until they shined, but no one could see into them because all of the curtains were drawn shut. Behind one of these windows a person was waking up. This particular person had lived in this house for many years. The occupants of the manor had taken to regarding him as a part of the family. This said a lot about the Fowl family since Domovoi Butler, at a height of almost seven feet, was a formidable person.

When he rose in the morning, the first thing that he did was reach down under his bed and grab the electronic sweeper to make sure that nobody had snuck something into his room. Than he went for a jog around the Fowl Manor perimeter partly so that he could get some exercise, but mostly to make sure that the border had not been compromised. Usually after that he went into the house to the kitchen to make breakfast. Of course after Artemis had surprisingly started cooking, in the morning Butler merely hung out around the kitchen. He needed reassurance that the boy was still there. After all the last time he had left Artemis alone he had transported himself and three other magical creatures into another dimension.

This morning started like any other. He awoke at 5:00 and took a stroll around the perimeter. He noted that the weather was particularly nice today. It had been raining so much lately. Ms. Fowl would be glad to here that the weather would be nice enough for the family picnic that she had been planning in secret for some time now. He allowed himself a small grin. Artemis would probably complain, but it would be good for him. Artemis's normally pale skin got even paler with every passing day. Some sun would benefit his health. He jumped over the stone steps and entered the manor.

Something was wrong. He could feel it.

He neared the kitchen cautiously. Leaning into the door he felt the cold wood press into his cheek. Something seemed different. But what was it? And than he understood. He swung the door open as fast as he could, revealing the empty room.

Artemis. Where was he?

Taking the stairs two at he time he raced up towards his charge's room. He made sure his steps were as light as a cat's. If it was just a false alarm there was no need to worry the Fowls. Butler knew though, as he neared Artemis's bedroom, that he was not there. One opened door later and Butler had all the proof he needed that Artemis was truly gone.

The bed was neatly made. A light blue-checkered pattern coated the quilt covering it. Artemis's computer was turned off, which was an unusual occurrence. The window was open just a crack.

Butler considered the possibilities. It was unlikely that Artemis would have run away and even if he had he would have left a note of some sort. This was the second story of the building so Artemis couldn't have climbed out of the window. The walls of the manor were covered with closed circuit security cameras and all the windows could only be opened by the inside.

'Fairies?' thought Butler. At once another voice awoke in his brain. 'Don't be ridiculous. Why would a fairy want to kidnap Artemis? Besides, fairies need permission to enter a dwelling. The only person who could enter would be Holly and she would never kidnap Artemis.' He nodded absentmindedgly. That made a lot of sense. He didn't know why he had even considered fairies in the first place. Though he had to admit that the idea of Holly kidnapping Artemis would be funny. He forced down a yawn. His vision swam for a moment. That had been happening quite a lot the last couple of days.

When his brain cleared, his mind was devoid of any fairy thoughts. He immediately began to search Artemis's room for signs of trouble or a message of some kind that he may have missed. The room seemed to be as net as it was always. Nothing seemed out of place.

Crunch. A small sound alerted him to the piece of paper he was crushing underneath his feet. He reached down and picked it up. As he brought it to his viewing level, he could have sworn that he had seen some hastily written words. His heart raced. Perhaps Artemis had left a clue after all. His hopes quickly faded. The piece was blank.

He threw it onto the bed in a fit of anger. No this would not do. He was a bodyguard and he wasn't about to lose his charge twice. There was only one person that would know what to do and that was Artemis, the resident genius. So he would have to call the next best thing.

Butler pulled his cell from his pocket. "Hello. Connect me to Minerva Paradizo."

888

Minerva had been having a very satisfactory day, resting at her Papa's Chateau. Her calculations were coming along even faster than she had expected. Several of her contacts in varies Intelligence Agencies had reported back to her with good news. Soon she would have all the information that she needed to begin.

She smiled slowly like a Cheshire cat, as she leaned back onto the velvet sofa. A dark haired boy swam across her thoughts. The intriguing Artemis Fowl. He was a very worthy opponent. After all, he was the first person who ever beat her at chess.

After his return from wherever he had gone to, Minerva suspected the Demon dimension, the two had kept in touch. They got fairly along well. There was no reason that they should not. Both were around the same age and had similar IQ's. For a few mouths the two of them enjoyed talking to someone who understood anything that the other one cared to say. No more dumbing it down as she did for her Papa.

Then Artemis had gotten bored. He never said anything, but Minerva could tell. She wasn't a genius for nothing. When she'd call, Butler would often answer and inform her that Artemis was not be home, even though she could hear the breathing of someone else in the background. His voice lost its luster and began sounding like a cheap radio DJ.

She recalled an old conversation.

'Did you hear about that rare plant they discovered in Africa?' 'Yes,' he would reply. 'Amazing.' But his heart wasn't in it.

Minerva snarled recalling this. The crumpling of paper caused her to look down at her hands. Oops. She relaxed her grip.

Anyhow, she had quickly come to the conclusion that something would have to be done. Artemis could not become bored with her. Not her. It would not do. Not even the subject of demons or fairies would perk his interest. He would fend her off, saying that he promised not to say anything. She acted quickly and her first plan began perfectly.

Artemis had been rather taken aback as she shoved her way into his room past Butler.

He sputtered uncomfortably, gripping the keyboard. The page he had been typing became rapidly full of the letter e. "Minerva! What are you? I ..,"

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, wow Artemis. You really know how to make a girl feel welcome. Interesting paper by the way."

Casually, he turned to the screen. "Oh! Whoops." He turned red. He straightened his tie and tried to regain some of his dignity. " So to what…" he began.

" …do I owe this rather surprising visit to?" finished Minerva mockingly. "Well, if you must know." She took her hands out from behind her back. In them lay a chessboard. "Fancy a game?"

And so the tournament began. It first the two were evenly matched. Than Artemis started having a winning streak. Minerva spent hours coming up with strategies and began a winning streak of her own. They went back and forth from the other's house every month to play. It was game thirty-six now with Artemis leading nineteen to seventeen.

The location of their games would change every once in a while to keep the other from cheating. Though one would think that such constant travel would worry the Fowls and Mr. Paradizo. However, their parents were just relieved that their child had made a friend at last.

There had been many conversations between their parents. Minerva remembered hearing her Papa confess that he had begun to worry about his darling daughter. She had heard the entire conversation as she heard all of their conversations.

One day when her Papa had been out treating a patient, she had taken it upon herself to _improve_ her father's private phone by adding a tiny bug under the receiver's plastic covering. Chalk it up to another advantage that she had over Mister Artemis Fowl.

Once again a smile crossed her lips. An extremely interesting piece of information had crossed her path today. Artemis would be surprised to find himself losing the game.

Minerva put the paper onto her lap carefully and picked up a book from the coffee table. 'The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.'

Two buzzes sounded from her pocket. Quickly, she reached in and pulled out a small cell phone. Butler had provided her with it. This was the phone that had delivered her the news that Artemis was back.

Moving deftly, she flicked it open with one hand.

"Hello?" she paused. "Yes, it is I." Butler's voice sounded oddly hushed and urgent. However she recognized it as the correct voice patterns, so this was defiantly Butler.

"It's Artemis. He's gone."

Minerva's eyes widened from behind her glasses.

"What!" Her voice sounded like it could have curled steel. It was much harsher than she had intended. Her mind was elsewhere as Butler fell silent. 'Gone! How could he be gone. Not yet. Not now.'

She pulled her mind back. Carefully she concentrated on the tone of her voice. It had taken her years to hone it to the correct tone and she wasn't about to undo all her work with Butler because of a small kink in her plans. Which was what this was. Really.

"I'm sorry," sighed Minerva. "Just surprised that's all. I didn't mean to snap."

Butler coughed. "That fine. Perhaps you' like to hear the details." However Minerva was already on her feet and headed towards the front door.

"No. You can brief me when I get there. I will take the first plane I can get."

"What airline will you be taking?" Questioned the bodyguard.

"Mine." She answered.

A/N: Oooooh, sequel. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Also can someone tell me how I can edit my posted stories. Thanks. Leave a review.


	2. Flying

The pressurized cabin was small and cozy, as the shuttle hurtled its destination. Holly sat up front. Artemis and Foaly sat in the back. Well, Artemis did anyway. Foaly or rather his hologram floated a few feet above the floor.

Through the windshield the rock tunnel could be viewed. Magma pulsed around them as they silently let Holly do what she did best. Which was flying the shuttle at freakishly fast speeds down past sharp burning cliffs into the center of the Earth of course. Every now and then Holly's mouth would twitch in a suspicious way. Artemis internally groaned. It would be a long time, he figured, before she'd let him hear the end of that.

"Holly." Artemis turned at the unexpected interruption of the quiet.

"What is it Foaly, I'm driving here." She replied gripping the controls tightly. She expertly steered them through a patch of turbulence. Artemis noted her ability to multitask under stressful situations.

Foaly seemed preoccupied as well. He kept glancing around and Artemis got the feeling that he was watching a different screen than the one that showed their ship. Foaly narrowed his eyes and began mumbling a bit to himself.

"Foaly, what were you saying?" asked Holly. She glanced back confused about the centaur's silence. "What is it? What's happening?"

The centaur shook his head. "I can't talk about it now Holly. I have to shut off the hologram. Just take Artemis to where he needs to go." He moved as if too shut off the connection.

"Wait." Screeched Holly. "You have to tell me what's going on. Are we under attack?"

"No time to explain Holly. But don't worry, it's nothing life threatening. I just might lose my job if I don't hop to it."

The hologram disappeared. In its place was a small brightly glowing ball that was hovering in midair. It grew dim and the now white colored ball dropped. Artemis reached out and caught it. It was barely warm at all. He rolled it in his hands experimentally.

"Unbelievable!" said Holly. "That centaur had me worrying that Haven was in some sort of danger and he was just going to leave me worrying about nothing."

"Eyes on the road, Holly." Said Artemis, not even bothering to look up.

"What? Oh." Holly turned back towards the front of the vehicle. She dipped the flaps and narrowly kept them from crashing into an outcropping of rock. "Thanks for that." She said grudgingly.

"You're welcome." Said Artemis as he leaned forward grinning. "After all, it's my neck too. "

Holly rolled her eyes. "And, if you don't cut it out, I'll have to abandon the controls anyway to come over there and ring that neck of yours Artemis."

Deciding that his friend must be having an extremely taxing day, Artemis wisely decided to work on his jokes at a later date. Apparently he still had some kinks to work out of them. Although the last time he had seen Holly, he had thought that he was getting better at them. After all he had made her laugh.

Once he had returned to the Fowl Manor the situation with his family had begun to take a toll on his countenance. He had stopped joking around at all. Artemis found that on the rare occasion that he cracked a joke, nobody laughed. They were too busy to listen or to withdrawn into their own fears.

It had been with that feeling of dejection that he had eagerly waited for the call that Holly had promised him. 'She was right.' Thought Artemis. 'We did have a lot to talk about.' So it was a pity that she had never called. When he had needed her guidance most she had vanished. Artemis rested his gaze on Holly's shoulders. He was most interested to hear why. Clearing it up this mishap would help ease the transition to fairy society. He did not think that he could make it without a friend like her.

"We're here." Artemis did not want to reflect in silence anymore. He did not want to be reminded of the hurt. "Artemis? Hello?" Holly would explain in time.

"Ouch!" said Artemis, rubbing his nose where Holly had pinched it. He looked up at her with a piercing stare of annoyance. Holly just stood there a moment. Then she rolled her eyes and stalked off towards the door.

"Just thought that you would want to get off the ship in this lifetime." She said, leaving Artemis to mutter to himself about elves and their limited patience.

888

The airplane began its decent. Minerva gripped the seat as her stomach began to roll. Oh, how she hated flying. She willed the flight to be over, so she could get out of this metal deathtrap.

Preparations had been quickly made for her trip to Ireland. It was actually quite easy for her to convince her Papa to let her use the private jet. All she had to do was tell her father that it was time for her to play chess with Artemis. Ten seconds later she had the keys to the shed where the plane was kept, two guards and a pilot at her command.

The flight had gone by in complete silence, just as she had requested. She had schemed and worked out all the kinks in her revenge. Her cell phone rested in her pocket still warm from all the calls that she had just finished making. Now that everyone who needed to be informed of her true intentions had been notified, she could misinform those who did not.

Minerva exited the plane a few moments later with her hand in front of her eyes.

The sunlight impaired her vision. Suddenly the sun was blocked by something very big and very tall.

"Butler!" she cried in a show of fake affection. "It is so wonderful to see you."

The man in question grunted in return and scooped up her luggage in one large arm relieving a grateful servant of hers. He took several large strides to a black limousine parked by the private landing strip. Minerva followed with much smaller steps.

Once in the car with Butler in the driver's seat, Minerva demanded to know everything that Butler did.

He complied and told her everything that had occurred that morning as well as Artemis's deteriorating attitude towards his family.

"He just kept drawing into himself. I felt that something must have been wrong. Obviously I was correct, but unfortunately Artemis would not let me help him with whatever it was that was troubling him. He simply refused to say anything."

Minerva pursed her lips. 'How unfortunate indeed.' She thought.

Aloud she said. "Well, I will have to search his room. Perhaps I can uncover a clue of some sort."

Butler nodded gravely. "I certainly hope so."

Minerva studied the scenery outside the window. She idly watched the grassy fields pass her by. Many ideas fluttered around her mind. What information was she missing? What did she need to know?

"How is the family reacting? I'm not about to walk into a family uproar. Correct? That would be extremely inconvenient. I can't search his room if his parents have already ransacked the place."

"They don't know that he is missing. I told them that Artemis was sleeping in."

"Good."

Butler turned the car into the driveway of the Fowl Manor. He took the key out of the ignition. As the sound of the engine being turned off echoed in the car, he turned toward Minerva. "Do you think you can find him?" he asked sounded worried for the first time.

Minerva looked at him, her true stubbornness shone through her charade.

"If I can't than, who can?"

888

"Here we are." Said Holly excitedly. She led an annoyed Artemis into the living room of a small apartment. The walls were painted a calming blue and the furniture looked almost brand new. The only hint that anyone lived here at all was the rather unorganized desk that sat in a small corner to in the far right side of the room.

After the two had gotten off the ship, they had made their way toward the very center of Haven. Artemis found the city bustling with busy fairies. None of them seemed particularly fazed that he was there. This surprised him a great deal. He was a Mud Man of all things! At least, he thought that he was partially still one. And even if that was not the case he was Artemis Fowl of all people.

He voiced his thoughts to Holly who just laughed. "Oh Artemis," she said chuckling. "You're old news here. The news that you were coming got leaked out months ago." She shook her head. " It's amazing how quickly the People forget. Though, I would not be surprised if your arrival causes a bit of a stir. It might take a while for the word to get around anyway. You ought to be thankful." She gestured to the large crowds passing them by. "I'll bet that it wouldn't be fun to be trampled by all of these People."

Artemis nodded embarrassed. Wordlessly he followed Holly. Expertly she turned left, right, and than left again on the streets. Several times Artemis worried that he would lose her and quickened his pace. It was obvious that she knew where she was going, while he did not. Finally she stopped in front of a rather large apartment building. The tan colored bricks did not say much about the place inside. A richly decorated lobby greeted their eyes. They took the elevator up to the fifth floor and Artemis noted with surprise that he could actually fit in the tiny space. Granted, his hair scraped the ceiling, but not uncomfortably so.

Then they entered the apartment. Artemis examined the place expertly. It was quite nice. He had to admit it. The furniture seemed to be a fairly high quality and the whole place was undeniably clean. Probably far cleaner than anything that he would find on the surface. Staying here wouldn't be so bad, if this was the place that he was going to be living. It wouldn't be the same as living in the Fowl Manor to be sure, but it wouldn't be horrible.

He looked at Holly who still stood there with an expectant look on her face.

"It's nice." He said carefully studying her expression. A huge grin broke out on Holly's face. Artemis couldn't help but smile a bit at her enthusiasm. It was infectious. This may have gone on like this for quite a while if Artemis's pocket hadn't lit up. It began to buzz. All at once his pocket flew open and an extremely demented hologram poked its head out.

"Foaly?" asked Holly. Artemis hurriedly pulled out the brightly glowing holo-ball before it did anymore damage to his suit or his psyche. He opened his hand and the hologram rolled out of his hand and into the air almost gratefully. Instead of the familiar centaur's face the two of them were greeted to the sight of Mulch Diggums.

"Mulch. Foaly, gave you permission to use this ?" Said Artemis in surprise.

"You didn't steal that did you?!" The Mulch Hologram turned towards the steaming elf warily.

"Well, not steal exactly. I prefer the term borrowed." Mulch continued quickly before Holly could cut him off. "Anyway I just thought that you might want to know that we caught that Twiggy kid."

"You mean Tim Borne." Said Holly.

"That's what I said. So anyways this Twiggy guy's a great catch." He explained to Artemis. "He broke into a LEP weapons facility twenty years ago. He's been on the run ever since. We just made enough to pay for a solid gold plaque on the office door."

There was a small sound from the hologram. Mulch turned and jumped.

"Get away from that! It's a prototype. It's very fragile. And at the very least it does not need your grubby little hands all over it."

The hologram changed to show a floor floating in midair. Holly and Artemis decided to go away for a little bit.

AN: Please, please leave a review. This is my first multi-chapter fic and I want feedback. Plus the more reviews I get the faster I tend to update.


	3. Falling

Artemis sat on his bed listening to the pitter-patter of the artificial rain. Next to him, Holly watched him amuse himself by playing with the climate control in his new bedroom. After the two of them had escaped Mulch and Foaly's hologram fight, Holly had taken it upon herself to finish up the tour of the apartment. The whole place was quite large. With two bedroom, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, Artemis had the feeling that he would not be staying here alone.

When Artemis opened the door to his room he was surprised to see a desk complete with a fairy computer, a bed, and a dresser, all of which were eerily familiar. His heart seized. Holly had made it look as much like his old room as she could.

"Thank you Holly." Said Artemis warmly. "So we're going to be roommates now."

Holly laughed. "So tell me Artemis how did you figure it out?"

"Well it was a simple process of elimination really. Since the fairy would most likely be someone that I knew, Foaly is the most obvious choice. We're both intelligent so we would probably get along. However, the centaur's acute paranoia would make that impossible. Mulch is out of the question. His dwarf nature would keep him from living in a place as clean as this." He paused as Holly doubled over. "Well, I'm so glad you find this amusing,"

"Sorry. It's just the idea of Mulch cleaning." She continued her laughfest for a few more moments and then was all ears again.

Artemis continued. "So therefore the only possible person left, is you, Holly."

She grinned and clapped her hands mockingly. "Excellent deduction Artemis. I'd be impressed… if I didn't know that you saw my spare uniform while I was showing you the coat closet."

"Fine. Yes I did, but I would have come to the same conclusion anyway." He crossed his arms.

"Sure. Now enough chatter. Let me show you how to work some of these things." Artemis started to protest, but Holly broke him off. "Yes. Yes, I know. You're a genius and you can figure out this stuff on your own. Well, just humor me alright." Artemis nodded. It wasn't worth arguing over. Besides maybe he might learn something useful.

The first item they examined was the computer. It was quite impressive. The main structure looked rather like a plasma TV screen. When it turned on, a small holographic keyboard would appear in the appropriate place. It took Artemis little over half an hour to grasp the concept off all of the basic programs. Holly helped him find everything from word processing to video mail to the Internet. Artemis smiled. He would be doing some serious hacking tonight.

Then they moved on to the basics like lights and climate control, which fascinated Artemis. "This is a superb system." He said excitedly. "Not only can you control the temperature, but the humidity, heat intensity, pressure and air circulation."

Holly had to stop herself from reminding him that she had lived with such conveniences for her whole life. It didn't matter. The system was doing what it was designed to do, which was to simulate the feeling of being on the surface.

As Artemis continued tinkering, Holly decided to take the opportunity to discuss the events of tomorrow. When she voiced this thought to Artemis, he reluctantly agreed. It was with a sinking feeling in her stomach that Holly noticed his old facade of indifference descend upon his face.

Holly cleared her throat. She just wanted to be able to get through this as quickly as possible so they could move on to happier topics. "Well, most of the details have been worked out about you living here. You will be staying here with me for as long as you need or want to. The Counsel is also prepared to offer you a job. I'm not allowed to tell you what it is. They wish to announce it formally. I suggest that you take it though."

She gazed passed him at the wall. "You won't be able to transfer any of your money to an account in Haven. However they are allowing you to return to the surface to retrieve a few of your belongings."

"Did the Counsel mention when exactly that would be?" Asked Artemis thoughtfully. Holly shook her head. "Then that means nothing. I could be allowed to return in five seconds, five minutes or even five years."

"Anyway," said Holly quickly, trying to drive his thoughts out of a dark place. "The Counsel is prepared to speak with you directly tomorrow. They will announce their complete decision."

Artemis frowned. "And what if I don't like what they have in mind for me."

"Don't worry. You will." Said Holly mysteriously. "Just try to act mature alright. And none of your vampire act either. Scaring the Counsel is the last thing you want to do."

"I'll do my best to give a good impression." Artemis said as he straightened his tie. "Of course the first thing to do is to get a good suit." He looked down in mock surprise. "Oh, wait I already have one."

"Shut up, Artemis," Laughed Holly," What am I going to do with you?"

"Hey, I thought that was for the Counsel to decide."

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Minerva coughed loudly.

"Quiet." Ordered Butler. Minerva reluctantly held in a groan of innocence. The two of them had made it into the Manor without any problems. Now Butler was attempting to get them to Artemis's room without alerting the Fowls.

Minerva frowned, pushing back a few of her blond curls. This was becoming absurd. This was not a war zone; it was a house. Still, she obediently stopped when Butler held his right hand out in a gesture that meant: Halt. He took a few steps forward and disappeared around the corner. "All clear." He whispered.

The crease between her eyebrows grew larger. Minerva stomped past a surprised Butler. "For goodness sake!" she whispered loudly. Ignoring Butler's request to stay behind him, she simply walked up the stairs turned right once and than right again. She came to a stop at Artemis's door.

Grasping the doorknob in relief, she watched Butler struggle to catch up with her. In his hands were her tools. Wordlessly, Butler handed them over. He looked as though he was going to say something to her, but she cut him off.

"Butler, I feel as though I would have better success in discerning Artemis's whereabouts if I searched alone. His room is much too small for both of us. So if you could just wait here. Thank you". She closed the door on his protests.

Nothing appeared amiss. Everything looked the same as it had the last time she had been here.

Donning a pair of plastic gloves, she began pulling out a few things out of her bags. A pair of tweezers, a bag of powder, and a small electronic bug sweeper were all laid out in a row. Her palms began to sweat from the insulating properties of the gloves. A quick sweep with the bug detector insured Minerva that Artemis had not left her any surprises and that she was safe to proceed.

First she made an inspection of the floor, making sure that Artemis had not left a visible clue of any sort. A piece of thread or a bit of dirt could reveal all that she needed to know. There was nothing.

If Artemis had been abducted, the mysterious kidnapper would have had to come in and out through the window. Anyway else would have taken to much time. Minerva spread a thin layer of the white powder on the windowsill. She blew it off with a calculated puff, revealing a myriad of fingerprints. Most of the prints she found matched the one she had of Artemis's. But, right before she gave up, she spotted a tiny print in the far corner. It was much to small to be made by a human.

Her eyes narrowed. She quickly retrieved a digital camera from her suitcase. It was the newest model. She knew that the picture would show every detail. With a quick flash, Minerva had her photo. That finished, she carefully transferred the print to a piece of extra sensitive memory latex that she had designed herself. Later she would be able to shift it to a more permanent material. Then, like an image in a mirror reflecting in another mirror, the fingerprint would replicate the original.

The next thing to do would be to search the desk for any valuable information. Opening the drawers, she rifled through a few loose papers. Nothing of importance here, there were just a few computer manuals and the odd equation hastily scribbled. Halfway through the fourth drawer it hit her. If she were Artemis, than where would she hide what was most important? Not a safe, that was too obvious and could be easily found with a metal detector.

It took her almost no time at all to dump the contents of the desk on the floor. Then she felt around the bottom of the drawer. The first two she found nothing, but on the third she found a catch. Bingo.

Minerva pulled out a false bottom made of plywood. A wave of excitement pasted over her. This would prove useful to her plans. She just knew it. Picking up the beige packet, she slipped it into her bag. She had snuck a look at the label first however. She pasted a look of complete innocence on her face, and let Butler in.

Holly, it had read.

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

The elf in question was in fact sitting alone in the kitchen. After she had finished her talk with Artemis, she had left him to play with his newfound 'toys'. Holly found herself craving a cup of hot coco. She sat idly on a padded stool, by the marble top counter. Through the door she could see the colors of the abandoned hologram bend and twist bizarrely. Perhaps Mulch really had broken it.

Her eyes shifted to the stove. The pot of water began to bubble and boil violently. Whipping around, Holly rushed over to turn off the heat. She carefully poured the steaming liquid into a slightly chipped mug. The cup was an old favorite of hers. She had bought it when she had first moved out of her parents' house. Now, the mug never failed to calm her.

Which was just what she needed now. The past few weeks, let alone the past three years, had been particularly stressful. Artemis had been constantly on her mind. It was scarcely a few days after she had returned from her Hybras, when Foaly had called her into his office looking grave.

The memory passed over her like a wave and she couldn't help but remember. Section Eight had employed her on a permanent bias. She had been on her way out of work. The department had shifted towards other issues now that the Demon issue had been dealt with. The number one issue was what had happened on Hybras. Holly was exhausted. All of the questioning had worn her out.

Her normally vibrant eyes were being to droop. If she didn't hurry, she was going to fall asleep standing up. A hissing sound came from her right. Her neck snapped up. The sound had come from the normally airtight headquarters of the most paranoid centaur in Haven. She saw Foaly and she saw the look on his face.

Mutely, she followed him into his office. He cleared his throat.

"I know you're probably tired of hearing this Holly, but I'd like to ask you a few questions."

And the two had talked for almost an hour straight. Holly spoke mechanically at first as his questions began to echo all the others that she had heard. Then he asked her about Artemis. So she had told him about the magic that Artemis had stolen and how he had seemed to loose it in the time tunnel. She told him about her new eye and the way that Artemis had scrunched up his face as he tried to heal himself. Foaly just sat and nodded every now and then like one of the Mud People's psychiatrists.

"Holly, I have a theory." He had been suspicious about Artemis losing his magic. It would be just like that little Mud Boy to pretend that he had lost something that he hadn't. "And if he really still has it, I think that we may have a situation on our hands."

"Yeah. Artemis will try to use it to his advantage. However, Foaly I think that you're misjudging him. He's a better person." She put her hands on her face. "I'll just call him and…".

"No." Foaly's voice was calm and steady. "You won't be."

She had looked at him and realized with a sinking feeling that there was not one ounce of humor in his face. So, she had sat and listened while he explained his thoughts about Artemis. And she felt herself grow ten years older.

Her current self sighed deeply. Gripping the mug tightly in her hands, Holly took a gigantic swig. She remembered too late that the liquid was burning hot. "Yelch!" She gulped down the cool air, as blue sparks played around her insides. Within seconds the burn was healed. She relaxed again.

Well, everything was going to be fine. Artemis was adjusting to Haven extremely fast, despite the situation. And she had to admit that his fascination with the utilities was hilarious. He looked so cute with that look on his face.

Holly took another sip of coco and slowly realized what she had just thought.

"Uh oh." She groaned. This was not something she needed to deal with right now. Concentrating, she tried to push all thoughts of Artemis out of her mind.

The door to the kitchen popped open. A mop of black hair poked out from behind it. "Hey, where do you keep the toothpaste?"

"Second shelf in the closet." She answered.

"Thanks." With that he closed the door, successfully hindering Holly's view of his chest.

"Right." Said Holly and resumed drinking with a smile on her face. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

AN: Some A/H in this chapter, finally. Let me know what you think. Also I want to personally thank each and every one of my reviewers. Sora Potter, Dawn over the Valley, and ckontowderdon32. You guys are the best!

Review please.


	4. Discoveries

AN: Thank you so much Dawn over the Valley, Thegreatestnameever, Yimi Makuya, MoonGazer123, crazygirliecaptain, Kry's Law, Sora Potter, CyleFlynt, and ckontownderdon32. Hope you like it.

The morning sun rose bright and early that morning, Down in Haven, no one could see it. Yet one person was awake. Artemis Fowl sighed, pressing his forehead against the cool glass windowpane. He could not see it through the colored glass, but he could feel the sun burning miles above him. His internal clock had awoken him at his normal time. Being a genius he could predict when the sun would be fully up. Closing his eyes he counted in his head. 9, 8, 7, 6…

Strange as it was that he was doing this, he let his brain rest for a moment leaving his psychological problems to be discussed at another time. He saw the sky in his mind's eye. A burning ball slowly made its way up into that sky. Golden glows settled into the atmosphere of the night. 5, 4, 3, 2…

The last time he had cared so much about a countdown was when Holly had died.

1

His inner sky lit up with the bright colors of the day. Yet when he opened his eyes, darkness prevailed. Haven would power up its lights at six FCT. (Fairy Central Time)

Although it had been his attention to explore the capabilities of his new computer, the moment Holly had left it seemed as though a large weight had pressed over his eyes. He had tried to continue working anyway, but after he had almost set his room to Ice Age temperatures, he decided that it was for the best that he go to sleep.

When he had awoken, the first thing that he noticed was the Holly has been there. Much like the tooth fairy, she had taken from him and then left something in return. His suit had disappeared and in its place was a note. _I'll be waking you up at 7:30. Your suit is in the wash. –Holly_

Waiting in the darkness for a moment, he traced his shadow with his fingers. Then, almost subconsciously, they flew to his ears and scratched vigorously. His ears had been itching a lot lately. Maybe he ought to ask Foaly if he had some sort of cream that could help.

Standing up from his crouched position, he wandered to the doorway and gently eased it open. The sound of silence smothered his ears. He made his way toward the kitchen.

The tan stone floor nearly froze his bare feet. He made his way to the refrigerator. Idly, he flipped through the contents. Soymilk, various fruits and vegetables, several of which he had never seen before, and a carton of chocolate syrup were all that he found. He took out a glass and poured milk into it. On an impulse, he squirted in a bit of the syrup as well. Both hands cupped the glass. He put it to his mouth and drank deeply.

Suddenly Artemis was more awake than he had been before. He realized that he was standing in the middle of the kitchen at four in the morning in a gray short-sleeved shirt that barely fit, gently stretching over his chest and a pair of black sweatpants, with a chocolate moustache. Heaven forbid Holly see him now.

"Ehem." The light cough signaled the presence of another person in the room. A small dirt covered dwarf raised a hand in greeting, Artemis blinked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing here Mulch?" he asked. Then he spotted the small ball nestled into his hand. "The holo-ball is really broken then."

Mulch shifted guiltily. "Erm, yeah. Foaly was too busy to get it himself."

"Ah." Stated Artemis skeptically.

"I'm here for the food though mostly. Step aside, Genius, the fridge is mine." Mulch rummaged through the contents of the small refrigerator. Eventually, he immerged with several handfuls of fruits that Artemis did not recognize.

"So how exactly did you manage to destroy a piece of machinery from miles away, anyway?" asked Artemis.

Mulch paused mid mouthful. He gulped down everything that was in his mouth down at once. "Well, Foaly wouldn't let me use it to contact you all, so I snuck in while he wasn't looking. That would have been all fine and dandy, if that centaur wasn't so darn paranoid about his inventions."

Artemis curiously asked. "So what happened?"

"He put a disintegrator on the control panel. Apparently, my DNA wasn't good enough for its scanner. It melted in my hands." Mulch shoved a cucumber moodily into

his mouth.

Artemis nodded. "That makes sense. The holobole would be basically useless without any proper operating mechanisms."

"Sure, whatever." Was Mulch's only reply. For a moment only the sounds of Mulch eating were heard. Since this is not a pleasant sound at all, Artemis quickly tried to come up with something more to talk about. He really did not have much to say, except of course, the question that had been bothering him for quite a while. Hopefully, Mulch wouldn't read too much into this.

"Mulch, how exactly is Holly paying for all of this?"

"Eh?" Said the dwarf intelligently.

"I may be naïve when it comes to Haven matters, however, I'm not stupid."

"I couldn't tell."

Artemis threw a glare at Mulch. Unfortunately, it missed and landed a few feet off target.

"This apartment is quite large and from what I can tell, it appears to be in the middle of a relatively well off area. Somehow, she made to create an exact replica of my room, complete with what seem to be custom made furniture that looks almost identical to their counterparts in my old room. It must have cost a small fortune."

Mulch sighed. "Yep. And she never invites me over."

"Just answer the question."

"Okay, okay. Its thanks to you really."

Artemis frowned in confusion. "What do I have to do with anything?"

"Well, you were the one how took her on a three year hiatus from reality buddy. Because she was actively employed in Section Eight, Holly had a fair amount of money waiting for her when she got back from Hybras." Mulch shrugged. "Add that to the amount of money Doodah Day and I owed her from using her name to advertise the detective agency and you get one lucky elf."

'If you call getting impaled with a sword lucky.' Thought Artemis bitterly.

The light to the kitchen suddenly flicked on.

"What's going on here?" Asked a sleepy voice. The two turned to see Holly Short looking at them with a rather confused look. Her red hair was wildly cascading around her face. A yawn escaped her mouth.

"Hello Mulch." She shook her head at him. "You shouldn't have bothered. We'll be fine. Tell Foaly to stop worrying and to meet us in the plaza at eight."

The neurons fired off in Artemis's brain. "You planned this." He said slowly. "Foaly and you set us up, so you could check on us."

Mulch shrugged. "More or less. What can I say? Foaly can be a bit unreasonable when he's worried."

Holly hugged Mulch tightly around the shoulders. Artemis's mouth fell open. Apparently he had missed something.

"Thank you. Its nice to know that people care." She looked down at her previously white clothing that was now covered with mud. "If you need me. I'll be changing into something clean." She exited the room with Artemis trailing at her heels.

"Wait, H-holly…" stuttered Artemis.

"What?" She inquired.

"How did you know? Back there, I mean."

Holly sighed. "This isn't the first time they've pulled something like this." She walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She spoke over the sound of the faucet. "I put your clothes back in your room. I'm a bit busy now Artemis. Could we talk later?"

Artemis walked away, pondering worriedly why Holly would need someone to check up on her.

"Oh. Artemis?" Called Holly.

He turned. "Yes?"

"You have something on your face."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Back at the manor, Butler was having a hard time. Minerva had opted to stay the night after the Fowls had insisted upon it. She was currently sleeping peacefully. He could see her from his position, which was the floor, were he had spent the night. She on the other hand had slept in his large comfortable bed.

One would think that a place as large as Fowl Manor would have a guest room, but since they never had many visitors, the rooms had all been converted to make them more 'useful'. Apparently Fowl Senior had done so without telling Angeline. Poor Mr. Fowl. Butler was grateful that he had been able to escape with the excuse of taking Minerva to get settled in.

There had been a bit of an uproar at the discovery that Artemis had been missing, but Minerva had acted quickly and told the Fowls a skillful lie. It had calmed them down considerably. Butler had been impressed. He didn't know she had, had it in her.

Butler silently stood up and exited the room, giving Minerva privacy in her sleep. He stretched the way a giant does to sort out the creaks in his neck. Making his way across the hall, he quickly waked to Artemis's room to make sure that he had not returned. He passed a hall mirror and was slightly surprised by the sight of himself. He had slept in his suit and now it looked horrible, with a great many creases and wrinkles in the fabric. Bags under his eyes told the story of his near sleepless night. Shaking his head he continued into Artemis's room. Unfortunately, nothing had changed. He sighed, sat down on a chair, and reached into his pocket for the piece of paper that he had discovered just the other morning. It wasn't there.

After a thorough search of his other pockets yielded nothing, Butler tried to reason with himself that it was just a useless piece of paper, but he felt a sort of sorrow at its loss. It was as though it had held a finale message from his charge. He would never admit it, but Artemis was like a son to him.

Butler wondered what had happened to the paper. He thought back to yesterday's events, trying to figure it out, but he could not remember. Strangely, he couldn't remember much about the previous day after he had gotten back to the manor. He frowned. Forgetfulness was rare for a bodyguard as skilled as he, who was trained to recall all the details of each and every day. Something was up and Butler was going to find out what.

Back in Butler's room, Minerva was lying in bed awake with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She floated somewhere between her memories and her surroundings in a sort of meditation. Preparing for the day, she processed the events of the previous day in her mind. Unlike Butler, she remembered every detail, as well as the reason Butler didn't.

She had finished ransacking Artemis's room and what she had discovered had pleased her very much. The whole thing seemed a bit too easy, however. She had meet little resistance on Butler's part. Had her friendship with the aging bodyguard really blinded him enough to leave her alone in his charge's room? She doubted it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fowl Manor: The Previous Day

Minerva calmly opened the door and let in the pacing Butler.

"I couldn't find anything that would indicate what happened to him." Said Minerva disappointed. The hopeful expression on Butler's face faded. Sighing, he sat down on Artemis's bed. The mattress creaked ominously under his weight. He pulled a piece of plain white paper out of his pocket.

"What's that?" Asked Minerva, not really caring. Butler looked up from his musings.

"It's just a piece of paper I found after Artemis disappeared. There's nothing on it, see." He handed it over to Minerva. "I'm just being silly."

On the contrary, she thought that he was insane, for there were indeed words upon the paper. These words were very interesting and powerful. They tilted her perfect world on its axis and made her wonder.

_Artemis was a fairy?_

Artemis nervously straightened his tie, doing his best to look well composed at the same time. The residents of the apartment building were more curious about him than the fairies on the street had been and kept shooting him questioning glances as they passed by. Next to him, Holly paced back and forth on the gleaming yellow tiles that covered the lobby.

Trying to keep his mind off of the upcoming meeting, Artemis studied the surroundings. Huge ornate pots filled with what he believed was _llex aquifolium_, lined the entrance. Off to one side was a large desk that held one harassed fairy that was trying to deal with the several lines of complaining tenants.

"Excuse me. EXCUSE me." A mother stomped her foot angrily as her two children clung on to each of her legs. "My room was not properly cleaned this morning. I don't have time to do it myself. And I don't have time to pay good money to not have my room cleaned. I demand a refund."

The unfortunate manager attempted to correct the mistake by calling the cleaning service, got a dial tone, and ended up giving the mother a full refund and coupon for a week's worth of free granola.

Holly passed through Artemis's field of vision again. She was going to make herself dizzy. Heck, he was getting dizzy. He grabbed her by an arm. She stopped and looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

The sound of the lobby doors opening interrupted what was sure to have been a great example of verbal sparring. Foaly's hooves made a click clack sound as he made his way over to them. Mulch followed closely behind muttering incoherently. It seemed that he had been persuaded to take a bath. Perhaps, Artemis thought to himself, he ought to be taking this hearing more seriously.

His shoulders tensed as he became more nervous. This was ridiculous. He was a genius. There was no reason, none at all, for him to so apprehensive of a simple job offer. Yet he was slightly uneasy as he followed his fairy friends out of the building.

"Where's Caballine?" Asked Holly.

"I told her to meet us later. She's swamped with work." Foaly said proudly. "She just got promoted. Such a smart gal."

Who's Caballine? Artemis wanted to ask, but he did not because he was concentrating on taking deep calming breathes. It sounded as if Foaly had gotten himself

a girlfriend.

The four continued their walk chatting contently, with the exception of Artemis who was starring off into space. Holly looked at him worriedly. What was wrong with him? Determined to break his mood, she grabbed his hand and laced it in hers. Artemis eyes widened and looked quickly at Holly, who was looking away, resolved to ignore him. She continued her conversation with Foaly, who seemed rather amused over the whole thing.

Soon a large structure rose up to greet them. It differed from the rest of the city in that it seemed to have sprung from the ground, rather than being artificially built. Haven may have been built in a cave, but this was a _cave_. Stalagmites and stalactites covered the entrance. Artemis had the impression that he was walking into a mouth of a lion.

The place had a very ancient feel to it. The foyer was long and dark, with only small glowing green gems to see by.

"These lights are organically grown." Whispered Holly. "Foaly doesn't like to talk about them because he didn't invent them." A rather loud protest came from the centaur. The entire group quickly hushed him.

"If you ask me they stole the idea from dwarfs anyway." Said Mulch grumpily.

A large waiting room greeted them with many tiny chairs that were made of some kind of stone. However, Artemis did not have time to examine the craftwork. The second they had entered the room a sprite in a LEP uniform waved them through two large double doors.

Artemis couldn't help lifting his fingers to his ears and scratching vigorously as they had began itching almost on cue. The feeling than went away as quickly as it had come. He let his hands fall to his sides not noticing the look of curiosity that came over the centaur's features. The Counsel's Courtroom was at least twenty feet across. A few lone benches stood in the center of the room facing a rather tall stand with seven embossed chairs next to it.

Wordlessly, Mulch, Holly, and Artemis took their seats. Foaly awkwardly rested his two front hooves on one of the benches instead. A door at the opposite end of the room opened. Out strolled the Counsel members in green robes with a golden acorn symbol embroidered over their hearts. The silence grew thicker as the seven fairies sat down. Out of all of them, Holly only recognized Vinyáya, her old flight instructor and current employer.

The front most fairy coughed and lifted up a piece of paper. He began to read from his obviously prepared speech.

"Artemis Fowl the Second, the Counsel thanks you," He peered down at them through his thick glasses, "for agreeing to meet with us today." Mulch coughed rather loudly. "Ah, yes. Artemis Fowl and friends. Now as you are all aware, Mr. Fowl has acquired magic under extremely unusual circumstances. After much thought and deliberation, as well as a fair amount of strongly opinionated advice from outside resources," He frowned at Holly briefly. "We have reached the decision that he has indeed become a fairy. He is to live with us, as one of us. As a gesture of welcome we would like to bestow upon you one of our most sacred possessions."

Vinyáya stood up and made her way over to Artemis. In her hands was a small silver chain with a tiny Book hanging from it. She spoke. "Do you, Artemis Fowl the Second, being of sound mind and body, agree to uphold the rules of the Book of the People and the rulings of the Counsel."

Artemis swallowed. Nobody had prepared him for this. He would have to wing it and hope they weren't expecting a novel. "I swear it." He breathed a sigh of relief when Vinyáya nodded twice at him in approval. She spoke again. "Do you, Artemis Fowl the Second, say here and now that you understand the rules to which you are now bound," She slipped the necklace over his head, keeping a tight hold on it. "And agree to be held responsible to any law that you may break from now onward, whether it be by accident or with malicious intent."

"I do." With that the Book slid itself out of Vinyáya's hands, glowing a bright blue. It settled onto his chest and Artemis felt a slight tingling sensation for a moment and then it was gone. His own magic told him that the Book had marked itself as his. No one could remove it from his possession without it disintegrating.

The fairy with glasses looked pleased. He sounded it too. "You are now a citizen of Haven. Therefore the Counsel wishes to extend an offer to you, to become an advisor to the Counsel in all matters human. Now, this job is not very demanding as we will only require your advise on major rulings. You will however be expected to go above ground for us on various occasions to have direct contact with humans. I think we all can agree that you are the most qualified for this. As the job will only necessitate your appearance here once or twice a week, Section Eight also asks that you also, accept the position as a research assistant for their technical consultant. Naturally, you will not be asked to work at Section Eight on the days that you are working here."

Artemis sat stunned as Foaly nudged him. "Say yes." He whispered. "You'll get to work with me." Holly coughed. "Oh, and Holly too occasionally." Artemis's mind was awhirl. Of course he was going to agree. The opportunities that this would give him had far surpassed his hopes. He'd get to work above ground. Perhaps he could use it as a chance to contact a few of his associates. The job put him in a powerful position. Getting to work with his friends was a plus as well.

"I accept both offers." Stated Artemis. Instantly his companions swarmed around him, offering their congratulations. The eldest fairy smiled showing his approval.

The Counsel left the room one by one, except for Vinyáya who immediately made her way over to them. "So this is the Artemis Fowl I keep hearing so much about." She shook hands with him. He winced slightly. She had quite a grip.

"You have nothing to worry about." She continued. "It'll be an easy job for you, if half of what Holly says is true. The advisor position pays quite well. It didn't used to, until a certain incident eight years ago involving you and Captain Short, I believe."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Figures."

Vinyáya finished speaking with them and said goodbye, exiting through the same door the other Counsel members had left through. This left Artemis deep in thought over what had just occurred.

"Well, come along Artemis." Said Holly.

He turned and started towards her, when suddenly the itching in his ears returned, slowly becoming a burning sensation that started a buzzing in his ears. His vision darkened and he began stumbling. It was as though he was in a tunnel. He fell onto the floor, barely registering the room around him. As he felt himself pass out, he could have sworn that he had heard the call of the moon.

AN: Umm. Review?


	5. Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl….yet.

Just Kidding!

A/N: Thanks: Dawn over the Valley, Yimi Makuya, Thegreatestnameever, Melomancer, trav1085, Snea, ckontowderdon32, Sora Potter, MoonGazer7, AnimeRose93, and Aquarius-Gal.

Artemis fell in slow motion as Holly watched helplessly. "Foaly!" she screeched, alerting the others to Artemis's condition. "Get over here now!" She hurried over to his fallen body. Flipping him over on his back, she reached for his wrist and felt for his pulse. It was at a safe rate, but was increasing slightly with each heartbeat.

Foaly cantered over to them. "What happened?"

"I don't know." She said. "He just collapsed."

"Holly, I need you to move over." She obeyed quickly. Foaly grabbed a fistful of Artemis's hair and yanked it up. As he did so, Holly noticed, for the first time, the eerie blue glow that was coming from Artemis's ears.

"Thought so." Said Foaly grimly.

"Well," asked Holly. "What is it?"

Mulch waddled over to them. "What's wrong with genius boy?"

Foaly ignored him. He was looking at Artemis. "It's his magic. I was afraid something like this would happen. Remember Holly? I told you." He said, searching through his pockets pulling out random objects, not finding what he was looking for.

Holly nodded lost in thought. She recalled a past conversation between the two of them, not long after she had been forbidden to contact Artemis. A groan broke her from her musings.

She turned to see Foaly holding up Artemis's head, a small knife in his hand. From what she recalled, she certainly didn't remember anything like this. Before she could voice her opinion, quite loudly, he gestured for her to come closer.

"Hold him down for me, Holly." Said Foaly. "We've got to bleed the excess magic out of his body. It's growing too fast for his body to handle it."

Artemis's shoulders shook underneath Holly's grip. She gritted her teeth and pushed him down with all of her might. "I hope you know what you're doing." It was more of a threat than a statement.

Mulch stood a safe distance away from the two of them. "I don't like blood." He said, his face turning green.

"Than don't look for Frond's sake!" said Holly irritated. She didn't like it either.

Foaly swiftly pressed the blade into the tips of the boy's ears. The cuts barely broke the skin, but it was enough. Blue sparks erupted. Some began condensing around Artemis's ears, but most flew onward towards the ceiling, only to be absorbed into the stone. The centaur took to his hooves and stumbled backwards to where Mulch was waiting.

The ground began to shake considerably as the magic took control of Artemis's body. It vented out steam through his pores. A small crack in the floor widened. Holly crouched over his form in a moment of indecision.

"Holly," shouted Foaly. "Get out of there."

But Holly thought, "What if he needs me?"

Tan rocks stabbed out from the center of the crevice. One caught Artemis's arm and tore a small gash. Holly winced. The large amount of magic constantly stemming from his body didn't stop its original course, which left his arm unhealed. Moving him would be impossible at this point. With little more thought she placed down her fingertips. "Heal!" She screamed. And the magic flew from her to him with the speed of light.

One moment later the air began to clear of sparks and steam, revealing Artemis lying on his back. His chest moved gently up and down supporting a worn out Holly Short. She had apparently passed out from the healing.

Mulch went ahead to alert the staff of the nearest hospital and to bring help. With a quick unhinging of his jaw, he was off. In his natural element, namely dirt, he was much faster then Foaly could ever be. Tunneling was no way to carry sick patients, so that left the centaur with the job.

The hospital was only three blocks away, but it seemed like too many. The combined weight of Holly and Artemis on Foaly's back was too much for him to handle. He was beginning to wish he had gone on more runs with Caballine.

When the three of them arrived at the hospital, Mulch and two stretchers were waiting for them. Holly awoke to find herself being lifted into the air by a pair of medics. With a sharp cry, she tried to wiggle out of the arms supporting her.

"Holly! You're awake." Said Foaly cheerfully.

"I've noticed. Now make them let go of me." Ignoring her protests, the assistants shoved her into a stretcher. A warlock in a flowing white uniform approached them. She pulled the two to the side to confer. The sounds of their whispers flew over Holly's head. She was so tired. All the energy that she contained had been sucked away during her brief tussle with the medics.

The warlock walked back to where Holly was laying and doused her with blue magical energy. Holly's eyes opened wide and reassuring strength pulsated throughout

her body. She tried to get out of the stretcher immediately.

"Now, Miss Short, you are not to move for at least a few more moments. The magic needs a chance to fuse with your body." Scolded the healer. "You'll be right as rain after that. Though I'd recommend that you complete the ritual as soon as possible. Doctor's orders."

The protesting elf was carted away to a recovery room. The warlock turned her attention toward the boy. Though the situation had already been explained to her, it had seemed so fantastical that she had not believed it. Yet, the Mud Fairy lay before her. He seemed perfectly healthy, which was natural for someone who had just been healed. A quick repeat of the standard tests that had previously been preformed confirmed her suspicions.

"All right, well," the warlock grabbed the edge of the stretcher and wheeled Artemis down the hall with Foaly and Mulch following closely behind. "He seems fine except he shows signs of exhaustion. Nothing serious however. You want to tell me exactly why you had to take him to a hospital."

"So, the fact that he's unconscious isn't enough now."

"That's enough Mulch," said the centaur. "Could you please inform the Head Warlock that his patient has arrived. I understand that he may be busy, but this is of the uttermost importance. We'll explain the situation to him. He's already been prepped."

If the warlock was annoyed by the conversation that had just taking place, she did not show it. She simply dropped Artemis into a room and left him with Mulch and Foaly, as she went to find her supervisor.

The dull silence was tiring. The gray chairs that the two fairies had been given to sit in were less than comfortable. Once again Foaly was forced to stand. With only a stationary Artemis for company, it was a relief when the familiar form walked in the door. The gray demon carried a small clipboard in his hands. Familiar red runes roamed over his form, recognizable despite the fact that his clothing covered up most of them up. His warlock uniform consisted of something that was a cross between a white robe and a tuxedo minus the tie. Furthermore he seemed happy to see them.

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Artemis slowly became aware of his surroundings. He could hear voices talking right next to him, but all he could see was the darkness of his eyelids. Although he was curious about where he was and how he had gotten there, all he could do was lie there and try to remember. One figure stood out in his memories. A tiny elf with pretty red hair. Her mismatched eyes stayed at him apologetically as she stood, no hovered, before him. She hugged him tightly. Then the image faded.

A huge cavern rose up to meet him. He was falling.

And then there was only blue.

He sat up in his hospital bed. Mulch, Foaly and Number One quickly cut their conversation short.

"Artemis, how are you?" Asked Mulch.

"I'm fine." Said Artemis. He didn't feel like talking at the moment and was regretting sitting up so quickly. The room lurched slightly. "Where's Holly?"

This time Number One answered. "She's been taken to the recovery room. It was a case of magical exhaustion I believe."

"What happened?" asked Artemis. "Is she alright?"

"She's just about fully recovered and should be awake in a few hours."

"Wait," said Foaly. "She fell asleep again? The last time we saw her she seemed wide awake."

The Demon warlock flushed. "Yes, well. We had trouble getting her to sit still and she needed to rest, so I had the medic slip her a sleeping tonic."

Mulch let out a huge chuckle. "Oh boy, I do not want to be you when she wakes up."

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The Previous Day: Fowl Manor

Minerva stood still in shock absorbing the information. How could this be? Humans couldn't be fairies or could they? Why had she not been informed of this?

She gave Butler a puzzled look. And then it all began to come together. A quick glance at his eyes confirmed her suspicions. The bodyguard's pupils, however alert they might still be, were ragged around the edges.

There was no doubt in her mind. Butler had been mesmorized. Since Artemis could hardly fail to notice that his bodyguard was bewitched, he had probably done it himself. Minerva frowned in concentration.

"Well, now I know why Butler has been so trusting lately. The hypnosis that

Artemis used must have been vague, so it will apply to me as well, while it lasts. Now what to do next." She thought.

Tearing her gaze away from the white walls, she stared at her hands. All of her knowledge about fairies had come straight from Butler. The fictitious friendship that she had built with him the past few years had proved to be most valuable. Even before the bodyguard had squirreled himself away in that little shack, she had managed to sink her claws into him. It had been ridiculously easy. He had been missing Artemis. Though the Fowls had supported him, he had wanted to talk to someone who would not question his sanity.

It had taken a little prodding, but Butler had been happy to spill his guts about everything that had to do with Artemis. This suited Minerva fine because although their early conversations were quite dull, sooner or later fairies had to come into the equation. Surprisingly, after a year or so, Butler had decided to trust her and the information she started learned about Artemis became useful. Before, the bodyguard had been cautious about what he said. He had not wished to invade Artemis's privacy. But he was getting older and becoming more senile. And Minerva had been there for him. She had made sure of it.

"Butler." Minerva said. He looked up at her. "Did you know that Artemis is a fairy?" She said innocently. He met her gaze. He then blinked looking confused, blinked once more and was back to normal.

Hmm. He shouldn't have responded to that at all. The mesmer seemed to be wearing off. She would need to act quickly or risk being caught.

Straightening her posture, she headed out of the room. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Though Butler's instincts were befuddled, he could not ignore that what she had said sounded just like: I need to get away from you.

"Minerva is something the matter?"

"Fairies." She replied simply. "Fairies." Butler's face went blank.

Minerva headed off in search of the Fowl twins, humming a little while she walked. Oh, how she loved being right.

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Artemis grinned at the Demon who had gone quite pale at the thought of Holly's rage. He was feeling much better. The horrible itching was gone from the back of his ears and in its place was a soothing cold sensation. Whatever had caused him to faint in the first place was gone. He hoped.

He clasped his hands together on top of the white bedspread. "So, if nobody objects, could someone explain a few things to me?" Inquired Artemis.

"Of course," replied the warlock. "I assume you want to know what happened?" Artemis nodded.

Foaly spoke up next. "The culprit in all of this is your magic, or rather the way you acquired it. You stole magic from a demon body and placed it into a human vessel. See, although all magic is fundamentally the same, demon magic is known for its ability to multiply and grow."

Foaly shrugged. "At the time when the magic transplant took place, you were going through human puberty. Becoming a fairy slowed down your aging, but it caught up eventually. When your magic started to expand your body couldn't take it. It

had to make a few," He coughed. "…changes."

Artemis's eyebrows rose. "What kind of changes exactly?"

Mulch handed him a mirror.

"Oh."

Artemis stared at his ears. Instead of the curved human ones that he normally saw, two pointy ears stood tall. He pulled them experimentally. The backs of his ears appeared to be covered in gray pebbly scales

"Erm. Perhaps this isn't the best time to mentioned this." Said Number One. "But there are a few other changes we need to discuss."

Artemis looked ahead blankly. "There's more?"

"Well, just minor things. Firstly, you are aware that you are aging at a fairy rate, correct?"

"Yes." He replied.

"Right." The warlock glanced down at his clipboard. "Then you should be interested to know that your approximate age is ninety. That's the number that you should put down on all medical forms. Secondly, there is the matter of your pituitary gland."

"It has to come out." Said Foaly. "We can't have you growing any more. You won't fit through any of the doors."

Artemis frowned. If he recalled correctly that was what Opal Koboi had inserted into her head in order to become more human like. It had sucked her magic dry like a sponge. Perhaps it could turn him normal as well.

Foaly knew what he was thinking. "It's no good. Your magic will multiply too quickly for the gland to stop it. It sees it as a virus. The more you fight it the more your magic grows. If you don't get rid of it now you might end up with wings or who knows what else."

"The warlocks are prepared for surgery. We can do this immediately." Added Number One.

"Alright." Said Artemis quietly

Number One went outside and came back with a stretcher. Artemis hopped on. His stomach flopped uneasily as he stared at the ceiling tiles. The Demon's head popped into view. "I'm going to wheel you into surgery now." He patted Artemis's arm reassuringly.

Artemis nodded. He had figured that out on his own surprisingly enough. Then a wave of tiredness rolled over him. The warlock must have rubbed some sort of soluble sedative onto him.

"Hey, don't worry. It's only brain surgery." Said Mulch.

And then Artemis was asleep.

A/N: Please review. I appreciate your feedback.


	6. Hurting and Healing

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. Enjoy.

White walls surrounded two fairies, as they waited outside a hospital ward. The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife and served with the horrific box lunches that they had been forced to consume. Once in a while a stomach would grumble softly to itself. A glazed expression covered their faces, which was what waiting for hours could do to you.

Number One ran past them, carrying some sort of sedative. As Foaly and Mulch watched, he darted into the room. A second medic came close behind him, wheeling a large machine. Mulch's eyes widened considerably.

"Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" A scream filled the air. Everyone in the near vicinity jumped. Slowly it became something more recognizable. "You no good D'Arviting hack! You call yourself a warlock! How **_dare_** you knock me out without my permission!"

Foaly grinned as he held his hands tightly to his ears. It seemed that Holly had woken up at last.

"Out! Get out. Keep that thing away from me." Screamed Holly. "Mulch! Foaly! I know you're out there."

Mulch and Foaly quickly went to their friend's aid. However, it really was Number One that needed their help the most. The elf was holding her own against him and his assistant, refusing to be given another sedative.

"Perhaps the best thing would be to leave you with your friends." Said Number One nervously. He edged toward the door. "Just be sure to rest, okay." He darted out to freedom.

Mulch chuckled. "Nice one, Holly. I thought he was going to faint."

"Oh, come on. I'm not that scary," insisted Holly. "Right?" Her friends wisely choose to remain silent.

"You now what," said Mulch. "I'm starving."

Holly leaned her head against the wall. She looked at Mulch unblinkingly. The dwarf shifted uncomfortably.

"Of course I can wait." His stomach growled. "Or not. I'll be right back."

Foaly turned his gaze back to Holly. "So how do you feel?"

"Just fine, as long as nobody asks me that again for awhile." She sighed. "I hate it when people do that."

He pawed the ground, trying not to show his hurt. "I'm just trying to help."

"You're always trying to help, Foaly." She turned away from him, facing the blank wall. Closing her eyes, she recalled the years she had isolated herself from Artemis,

just because Foaly had asked her to.

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Artemis awoke to the sounds of voices hovering around him and his bed moving at a dizzying pace. Trying to fight off to effects of the sedative, he opened his eyes as his stretcher stopped moving. He briefly saw Foaly and Mulch standing over him and Holly talking to Number One. She was wearing a faux fur coat, which she was pulling close to her body.

Then an invisible force closed his eyes. He briefly considered trying to open them again. Then someone shoved something under his nose. "Smelling salts," he thought, as he automatically rose to a sitting position. He pushed away the hand holding the awful smell under his nose. As he blinked his eyes experimentally, he realized that it had fought off the effects of the sedative.

"Ah, you're awake," said Number One. "Excellent." He practically pulled Artemis off the stretcher.

"Is this how you treat all of your patients after they've had major surgery?" asked Artemis.

"Only if we're in the middle of a crisis," said Number One. "We've got an extreme case of decompression sickness to deal with. Look, I'm really sorry about this, but I've got to go. Here's the summary. Your surgery went well. You're fine. You and Holly should replenish your magic as soon as possible. Foaly and Mulch have the full details, as well as your medical bills. See you all later." He rushed off.

"Well, that was just peachy," said Mulch.

Artemis brushed invisible dust off of his suit. The fairies must have dressed him while he was still out of it. He followed his friends to the exit of the hospital. A cab was waiting for them by the curb. Foaly opened the door for Holly.

"After you," he said, gesturing his arm widely. She sighed and rolled her eyes. The centaur shut the door behind her with a snap.

After getting in the cab himself Artemis slid across the seat to be next to Holly. Mulch sat next to him, and Foaly crammed himself in the front seat. The driver yanked down his cap and steered the car out into the road. As they reached the intersection, the yellow cab turned right instead of left, much to Artemis's surprise.

"Isn't the apartment in the other direction?" asked Holly. Artemis closed his mouth. She was good.

"We're heading for the pod station. That's where I was told to take you all," said the driver.

"We figured it would be best if you replenished your magic right away," said Foaly. "And the Counsel only agreed to grant you a pass to the surface for a limited amount of time."

"Oh, joy."

The rest of the trip was conducted in an uneasy silence. When they reached the port, Holly and Artemis were crammed into a small ship. The dark interior of the shuttle cast a shadow over the two of them. Wordlessly, the two donned helmets and a pair of wings each.

Holly took advantage of the new technology Foaly had put into hers. With the push of a tiny red button, her wing's system synchronized with Artemis's. This allowed him to leave the flying to the autopilot, which was trained to follow the path that Holly's wings took.

Cold air rushed past their faces, turning them pink. When he glanced down, Artemis thought that the world looked abandoned beneath them. All of the roads were clear of passengers and the lights from houses had all been shut off. Continuing onward, Holly steered them over a massive forest, before descending slowly to land in the dead center of the forest.

Under a full moon, the two planted acorns into the ground near an ancient tree. The dirt was soft to the touch, which Artemis noted as they dug a hole just deep enough. He had been expecting something rougher and the fineness of the ground surprised him. Copying Holly carefully, he covered his acorn and packed in the soil tightly. Magic flowed into their veins. Holly sighed with relief. It was good to be running hot. She shook her fingers, waiting for them to stop tingling.

As an unknown side affect, the act of replenishing one's magic has a tenancy to make a fairy relaxed and content. Artemis was not aware of this fact. He had so rarely used his magic that he had never completed the ritual. A smile tugged uncertainly at his lips. Holly giggled at his confused face.

With a sigh of content, Holly lay down in the tall grass staring up at the stars. The heavens were alight in full fashion tonight. No manmade lights to obscure their view. Cautiously, Artemis sat down next to her cross-legged. He had to admit that the serenity of the night was pleasant, but he couldn't stop worrying that his suit was going to get grass stains.

"Orion." Said Holly.

"Hmmm?" Asked Artemis hastily. He looked at the elf who was still staring at the sky. One of her fingers was pointed in the air. "Oh, the constellation." He could have kicked himself.

"Yeah, the belt is right there." Said Holly. "See that group of three stars?"

Artemis nodded. "Yes. Did you know that Orion is also referred to as the Hunter?"

"Ah huh." said Holly.

"Study much?"

"A bit. I've always loved the stars. Don't get to see them often though."

They sat in silence for a moment or two. Holly sat up and leaned her head on her hands. Artemis found his gaze drawn to her. The wind played gently with her hair, which she had let grow out a bit more since he had seen her last. She seemed so content. She belonged up here, realized Artemis as he watched her.

"I guess we should go back to the chute." Suggested Artemis hating himself for it, but the last thing he wanted was for Holly to get in trouble with the Counsel.

"Soon. We can probably get away with a few more minutes."

"Done this before?"

"A fair few times."

Artemis took a deep breath. "Holly?"

"Yes."

"I just wanted to say, that," He shifted uncomfortably. "These last few days have been awful, I mean…" He frowned. "That's not what I meant. This was so much simpler in my head." Holly tilted her head in confusion. "You've been a great help to me, Holly. I'm just glad," He hesitated, "Yes. I'm glad you're here with me. I couldn't do it without you."

"I'm glad you're here too, Artemis," She said.

Hesitantly, Artemis smiled nervously at her. She grinned back.

"Going soft on me, Genius?"

"Never." Artemis Fowl said, as a red blush stained his cheeks.

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The light blue room was flooded with light as Juliet opened the curtains. Loud complaints quickly followed. Juliet grinned. That would teach the twins to try and pull the wool over her eyes.

"What's the matter?" she asked innocently. "It's ten o' clock. Normally I can't get you guys to sleep past seven."

Cassie groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room Tom tried to block the sunlight with his hands. Juliet would have none of it. "Alright, up, up. I'm not going to let you sleep the day away just because you stayed up past your bedtime. I suppose you'll listen to me now, when I tell you its time for bed, huh."

"Okay. Make the light go away," whined the older twin, by a minute.

"Alright, Cassie. Whatever you say." She closed the shutters. "I'm going to go check on your breakfasts and when I get back I expect to find the two of you awake."

Opening the door, she came face to face with Minerva, her hand posed to knock.

"What are you doing?" Juliet hissed. "I just woke them up."

"Sorry," said Minerva with forced politeness. "I just wanted to see them."

"Well, they aren't ready to see you." Juliet had never gotten along with Minerva ever since she had begun to oversee the twins.

She had been working with her wrestling group in Mexico, when she had gotten the letter from Mrs. Fowl. Juliet had been ecstatic that Angeline was pregnant and had squeezed one of her team members so tightly that they had had to forfeit their next match. Immediately, she had flown out to see the Fowls and her brother.

A slightly teary eyed Mrs. Fowl had asked her to be the child's caretaker, much to Juliet's surprise. As she had never completed Madame Ko's course, she wasn't a bodyguard. Not to mention that Juliet didn't feel that she was up to being a bodyguard. She liked wrestling better, it was faked and no one got hurt.

However, it was Mr. Fowl that had changed her mind. "The Fowls are not involved in criminal activities anymore. Therefore we do not find it appropriate to hire a bodyguard to look after our child," he had said. However, the family still had enemies and they wanted someone who would be able to defend herself and their kid. She was well qualified for that.

"And you're so close to our family dear." Mrs. Fowl had said.

When the time had come for the delivery of the twins, Juliet had been there. The moment she set eyes on the twins, she had already broken one of the most important bodyguard rules. She had gotten attached.

She had held Cassie in her arms and marveled at how cute she was. "I'll keep you safe," she had softly promised. Tom had gurgled loudly at that. Juliet laughed. "And you too little one."

Still cooing over them, the family had returned to Fowl Manor and not long after that Minerva had shown up. The girl had tossed her curls around and had captivated the Fowls, as well as her brother. Juliet had been determined to befriend the girl, however, from the moment when Minerva had shaken her hand, she couldn't shake off a bad feeling.

Even now, she didn't understand why she didn't like her. Perhaps it was because she felt that Butler only trusted Minerva because she reminded him of Artemis. Juliet didn't know, but she still didn't want her anywhere near the twins.

Minerva was glaring at her now. "There's no reason to be so rude, Juliet."

"Spoiled little brat," she thought, stepping out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her, she made her way to the staircase. When she got there, she turned around and found Minerva still looking at her. Her feeling of unease grew.

"Minerva, would you like to help me get the twins breakfast ready?" asked Juliet, not about to leave the girl alone with her charges.

"Very well," said Minerva curtly.

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Artemis's grip tightened noticeably on the pliers he was holding. The tiny piece of copper wire glittered as it was crushed into oblivion. Gritting his teeth, he turned around in his swivel chair and faced the distraction, determined for once and for all to end this nonsense. The centaur sat directly across from Artemis typing away at his view screen blissfully unaware of the fact that his assistant's eye was twitching.

Foaly was singing to himself. Again. For the twentieth time this month, Artemis wondered if he should quit his job or at the very least buy some earplugs. While the work interested Artemis, he felt that the only matter of great importance that he had learned this past month was how much he loathed Riverbend. He weighed the pliers in his hands experimentally.

"_When I've swallowed a rock bigger then me butt,_

_When my truck's been stolen by a man named Lou,_

_When I've been bitten by a mutt_

_That's when I remember you."_

The centaur sang widely off key. His hooves moved with the nonexistent beat. Quite luckily for Foaly, at that moment the doors opened with a soft swishing noise. Artemis perked up immediately at the sight of the tiny elf that was staggering under the weight of manila folders. Holly grinned tiredly at him as she made her way over to Foaly's desk. She set down the pile down was a loud thump, effectively surprising him enough for him to stop singing.

"Oh, hello Holly. I didn't hear you come in."

"That's alright Foaly." She brushed her hair out of her eyes impatiently. "I've got some forms for you to sign." The centaur grabbed the top folder, opened it and began to skim the contents. Without looking up, he reached for a pen.

"So did anything interesting happen today?" inquired Artemis. He put down his work and folded his hands in his lap.

"Oh, it was absolutely fascinating," said Holly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Between the filing, and the research, and the errands, I don't know how this day could get better."

Artemis chuckled. "That good, eh?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"At least you don't have to listen to what I could hardly call music."

"I resent that," said Foaly.

Rolling her eyes, Holly walked over to Artemis's desk. She stared curiously at the tiny metallic tube that he had been working on. Wires poked out of it at odd angles. Artemis placed the pair of pliers down next to the soldering iron that lay smoking.

"What is this?" said Holly. "Looks like you stole from the history museum."

Artemis looked offended at this. "Are you insinuating that my work is a piece of junk?"

"No, of course not. I'm saying that it _is_ junk. Foaly what were you thinking?"

The centaur looked up at his name being called. He shook his head. "Don't blame me, it's not my invention. Artemis designed it. He won't even tell me what it is."

"Really?" said Holly skeptically. It was unlike Artemis not to brag.

"Yes, really," said the Genius himself. "It was most amusing to see him try and guess." He smirked at the irked expression on Foaly's face.

"All I know is that it has something to do with the Neutrino 3000. He keeps asking me questions about it. Yesterday, I found him going through my computer files."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "He got past your security, again then." It was not a question.

"Yes," admitted Foaly. He set one of the folders aside and reached for another one. Then he stopped. "What do you mean again?"

Artemis figured that he had better change the subject. He settled for the easiest topic. "So Holly, do you want to know what this is?" He waved the metal tube in the air tauntingly.

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Obviously. I just asked you that."

Artemis sat quite calmly looking at Holly. "Well, I'm not going to tell you." He saw her expression change from curiosity to infuriation. Her brown eyes glowered at him. He stared fascinated, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Umm," he stammered out. "What I mean is that I'm not going to say what it does. However, I would like to share the name with you. I just thought you might be interested to know."

Foaly snickered to himself. "Figures he'd give in to her." He thought diving behind the pile of forms to avoid the weird looks the two were giving him.

"This is the prototype for the Neutrina," said Artemis, lowering his voice so that Foaly wouldn't hear.

"Neutrina. Like the Neutrino?" asked Holly.

"Exactly," said Artemis. "I came up with the idea thanks to you actually."

Holly frowned in confusion. A memory struggled to surface_. 'The laser knocks out some functions, but sometimes awakens others.' _What was that boy up too? Foaly interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey Fowl, you are aware that the Neutrino was named after the stable neutral elementary particles that are used in its laser, correct? And that Neutrina is not a word."

"Yes, I am aware of that fact," said Artemis. "I simply chose to ignore it. I figured that giving your invention credit in my discovery was more important. After all the Neurina is quite like its sister project, the Neutrino." He returned to his work.

"Alright," said Holly. "Well, I've got more work to do. I guess I'll be seeing you tonight then."

"Maybe," replied the boy. "The Counsel hinted that they would like me to come to another formal dinner."

Holly sighed. "Again?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I feel more like their lapdog then their advisor." His face displayed his displeasure at the thought. Holly placed a hand on his shoulder and patted it.

"Cheer up, at least it pays well," said Foaly. Artemis scowled at him. Actually, Section Eight paid him much more money than the Counsel did. The only reason he had not quit yet was because Holly had asked him to give it a chance. Well, that and the fact that getting on the bad side of the Counsel was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

He looked back to see Holly waving at him as she left the office.

"See you Artemis…bye Foaly."

The door slid shut behind her and Artemis was left staring after her. Smiling, he picked up his pliers again.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say someone has a crush on a certain fairy," teased Folly. The effect was instantaneous. Artemis overshot the wire he was aiming for and almost drove his tool into the table.

"Careful. You'll scratch the finish," said Folly.

"D-don't be ridiculous. Why would you say that?" stammered Artemis, a little too late.

"Well, I could make a list, but somehow I think you'd prefer it is I didn't."

Artemis blinked nervously at him. Looking as though he had been hit by lightening, he looked at the wall.

"Do I like her?" he thought. He wasn't quite sure. The only crush he had ever had had been on Minerva, but that was to have been expected. After all, she was a genius like him. It only made sense that he should have feelings for her. However, he had soon discovered that she was not as interesting as he had hoped. Sure, Minerva understood everything that he said, but that was the problem in itself. The truth was that Artemis enjoyed explaining things to people. Talking to Minerva was like talking to himself.

Artemis knew what it meant to have a crush. With Minerva, he had felt butterflies in his stomach and had felt nervous when he had talked to her. Not exactly the most comfortable feeling.

When he thought about Holly, he just felt better, safer. She was fun to be around. He enjoyed watching her face, almost as much as he liked talking to her. He didn't even mind it when she outsmarted him with a more practical reasoning.

His eyes widened. "I do," he said, aloud in surprise. Then he remembered who was with him. "Umm,"

"Oh, I won't tell her. You don't have to worry about that," said Foaly grinning with glee. "However, Mulch and I will be making fun of you every second that we get the chance…lover-boy."

Artemis groaned and flopped his head down onto the desk dejectedly.

"There goes my dignity," he said to himself.

"You know, if you want my opinion, I think that the two of you will make a great couple," said Foaly. He scribbled a note onto on of the files he was looking through.

Artemis looked up. "Really. Even with the unique problems that this situation has."

"What problems?" asked Foaly.

"The species issue," said Artemis, "for starters, at least."

Foaly rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that all. Come on Artemis, you're smarter than that. The two of you are both fairies now. Even if you were still just human, elves and humans have a lot in common. The only issue would be that you would grow old before Holly did." Leaning back in his chair, he grabbed a carrot from the bucket by his chair.

Chomping on it he continued. "But that's not a problem anymore. You're 90 and Holly's 87. Not much of an age difference."

Artemis rubbed the back of his head nervously. Foaly did have a point. "So you think it could work?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course it could. Provided that you actually have the nerve to ask her out." Or vise versa, though Foaly, which was far more likely. "Now, get back to work before I have to dock your pay."

A/N: Please review, it'll make my day.


	7. Tensions

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. By the way, I couldn't resist putting a literary reference in here. Let me know if you find it. : )

"Whoosh," was the sound Minerva's lungs made as air rushed out of them. Her mind reeled from the realization that she had just been body-slammed by a child. Cassie giggled from on top of her. Minerva tried to push herself up by her elbows, but then Cassie started jumping up and down on her back. She began to screech, "Horsey, horsey…"

Resting her chin on the floor, Minerva groaned. Soon Cassie's brother joined in with the chant. He circled around them waving his fists in the air. A pair of feet came into Minerva's view.

"Having fun?" asked Juliet innocently. Minerva groaned as the other twin jumped on top of her as well.

"You been teaching them wrestling moves again, haven't you?" said Minerva. She winced as Tom yanked her long blond hair.

Juliet bit her lip trying not to laugh. Ignoring the younger woman, she picked up Cassie, swinging her back and forth. The child squealed in delight. "I know someone who's having a good time. Yes, she is," sang Juliet. She set Cassie down onto her bed.

Meanwhile Minerva tried to reason with Tom, but wasn't having much luck. She spied an unfinished puzzle on the floor. Seeing as how it was closer to Tom's side of the room than Cassie's, Minerva took a chance. "That looks like a fun puzzle," she said. Tom looked over at it, than went back to messing with her hair. "Why don't we play later and finish putting your puzzle together now?"

The boy grinned and got off of her. He raced over to it. Picking up some of the pieces he began fitting them in place. Minerva sighed in relief and struggled upright. She staggered over to where the boy was playing and sat down cross-legged. She noticed that the puzzle was almost complete. The tiny pieces were quickly forming a twelve by eight rectangle that contained a picture of a chalkboard with mathematical formulas written on it.

Minerva studied the young child in front of her. He seemed quite bright. And he was finishing the puzzle far faster than a child of normal intelligence would have. Within seconds it was complete. Looking excited, Tom proudly showed it to Minerva. "Very nice," she said. "Do you know your multiplication tables, Tom?" He shifted his weight back and forth. "No…but Cassie does."

Upon hearing her name being called, the girl wiggled out of Juliet's grip and jumped off of the bed. She crashed into her brother and they both toppled to the ground laughing. Minerva frowned impatiently while Juliet smiled at the twins' antics.

"Cassie," asked Minerva, "Do you know how to multiply?"

Cassie nodded. "Yep. Five times eight equals forty. Twelve times two equals twenty-four," she hopped in place excitedly, "and six times nine is forty-two!"

Juliet frowned. "All right that's enough. Lunch is going to be ready soon, we should all go downstairs."

Minerva got up from her spot on the floor, wincing as she did so. "I think I'll skip lunch today," she said. "My back really hurts. I'm going to my room to lie down. Make sure nobody disturbs me, Juliet." She hobbled out of the room dramatically.

The caretaker glared as the door shut behind Minerva. She was really being to loathe her. Why Artemis was in a relationship with that girl, she'd never know. Juliet turned back to her charges. "Who wants to learn how to do a dropkick?"

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Minerva sat on her bed at Fowl Manor and studied the packet in front of her. Her eyes traced the name on it. Holly. The fairy he had tricked her into capturing long ago. Her hand reached for the clasp and was inches away from opening it, when a knock sounded from the door.

"Minerva," called Butler. "Another package arrived for you." She blinked with surprise. There was no reason for anyone to be sending her anything. The only mail she had received the entire time she was here was a package from her father's private lab, containing the packet she had filched from Artemis Fowl's room. It had been looked over for booby traps and had been deemed safe to open.

Curiosity overwhelmed her desire to send Butler packing. Shoving the packet under the bed, she stood up and opened the door. Butler took a large cardboard box from under his arm and handed it over with one of his giant hands. It felt strangely light, and as she took it from him, she noticed that he also held a steaming plate of food.

"It's for you," explained Butler. "You need to keep your strength up." Minerva did not need to be told twice. She balanced the plate on the crook of her arm and edged backwards into the room.

"Thank you, Butler. Now, if you could excuse me, I'm going to lie down." She kicked the door shut with her foot.

"Alright," she heard him say disappointedly. Minerva placed the plate on the desk. He probably wanted to discuss the progress that she had made on Artemis's disappearance. However, she had not had time to figure out exactly where Artemis was and she definitely had not had enough time to fabricate a believable answer for the bodyguard.

She took a bite of the chicken and mulled over her options. Perhaps it was becoming too dangerous to live with the Fowls any longer.

Standing up and placing her food down, she retrieved the box. Minerva looked at the postage and saw a tiny acorn sticker by the address. It was the symbol that her contacts used to reach her. She slit the tape and opened the flaps, shifting aside many plastic packing peanuts. When at last she reached the bottom of the box, she was rewarded with a machine the size of a laptop covered completely in a smooth, black material that was almost exactly like plastic. Light raced away from it and it was cold to the touch.

Frowning, she searched the box for a note, but found nothing else. Minerva ran her fingers over the machine, searching for a hinge, but finding nothing. Then, almost silently the black object opened. It split in half and the uppermost part folded back to reveal a small screen. A picture of a bird and the words Receiving Signal in Gnomish flashed repeatedly in the background. It was gibberish to Minerva, who had never learned the language.

A small creature appeared on the machine. She guessed that it must be a fairy or a demon of some sort. Then he spoke and she couldn't help but think that he had a melodic voice.

"Minerva Paradizo, if my sources are correct, I believe we have use for the others unique talents." He said in fluent French, his eyes shimmering with blue sparks.

"Oh?" she asked intrigued. "Well, that may be, but if you continue to try and hypnotize me, I'm afraid this professional relationship won't last very long."

He did not seem taken aback by her behavior, much to her irritation. In fact, he looked amused. "Nicely played, Miss Paradizo. Now, shall we turn to the matter at hand?"

"Which is?"

"Why, revenge of course."

Minerva grinned. "You have my attention."

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The business fairy droned on and on. "And so you see that the latest developments in holographic technology will open new possibilities in the future." The audience clapped automatically. Artemis groaned and slunk down farther in his seat. Next to him, Holly sat with a glazed expression on her face. This did not change, even as she leaned over to whack Artemis on the head. "Sit up," she hissed.

Rubbing his forehead, he obeyed. Taking a look around him he observed the hundred other fairies in the room. All were sitting on uncomfortable stone chairs. Most of them seemed to be paying little attention to the speaker. Holly shifted in her seat trying to resist looking at her watch. It was their day off and instead of sleeping in, she had dragged Artemis and herself down to a conference by Acorn Tech. The reason being that the seminar was about holograms. Besides running a research program on the subject, Acorn Tech was also offering grants and prizes for recent works. Foaly's holobole had made the list and, as his friends, they were here to support him.

"And without further ado, I present the winner of the Acorn Tech Grant of a hundred bars of gold to… Foaly the Centaur, for his invention of the Holo-ball."

Holly stood up and clapped happily. Next to her, Artemis allowed a small smile to break out on his face. Their friend walked proudly onto the stage, his hooves making a clopping sound on the floor. His head was held high as he accepted the grant. Holding onto the large cardboard check tightly, he took the microphone from the other fairy with his spare hand.

"I must tell you that this is a great honor for me," began Foaly. Behind him the Acorn Tech employee looked confused as to why his hand was empty. "Of course, I cannot say that I am too surprised, as I worked long and hard on the holo-ball to make it work correctly," He smiled. The other fairy began making not so subtle movements with his hands. _Get off the stage_, his expression pleaded.

Blatantly ignoring the employee, Foaly took a deep breath. "But as much as I would love to go on and on about the holo-ball and its capabilities, I'm sure that you'd find it much more interesting if I just showed you how it works. Therefore I have prepared a small demonstration." He motioned to one of the stagehands. The lights on the stage dimmed, so that the hologram would be easier for the audience to see.

Holly had sat back down. A massive tremor shook her body as she tried not to laugh. She leaned into Artemis, trying to stifle her mirth. Artemis turned red and stiffened.

Foaly pressed a button on his watch. A small glowing white object darted out from behind the blue curtain. Coming to a stop in front of him, the tiny ball hovered patiently. Foaly had the full attention of everyone in the room. This was far more interesting than anything that they had yet to see today. The entire conference was quite boring. In fact, it was probably the most interesting thing they would see at all that day.

Grinning at his cleverness, Foaly motioned the employee forward. The fairy did so with a resigned look on his face. Asking for his assistant to be perfectly still, Foaly pressed another button. The holo-ball glowed even brighter and suddenly a ray of light flew out from its center. Crisscrossing its way across the employee's head, the tiny scanner accessed every detail, down to the bald spot on the back of his head. Coming full circle, the tiny ball came to a stop.

Then a quiet electronic voice said smugly. "Data assessment complete." A perfect replica of the fairy's head floated in place of the holo-ball. Staggering backwards, the speaker tripped and landed on his bottom. The hologram mirrored his look of shock and echoed his swear quite loudly.

The audience roared with laughter. With a burning face the fairy struggled upright. He snatched the microphone away from Foaly. Covering it with one hand, he told Foaly to get off the stage. "Sure, all you had to do was ask," replied the centaur. He trotted off.

After that the presentation continued normally and when it was over everyone left the room to go attend the luncheon next door. Artemis helped himself to some fresh fruit from the buffet table while Holly trailed beside him looking everywhere for Folly.

"Where do you suppose he is?" asked Holly. "I'm surprised he hasn't shown up yet. Do you think they threw him off the grounds?"

"I have no idea," answered Artemis idly. He picked up a banana and frowned at the black spots on it. "Not the highest quality of food, eh?"

Holly snorted. "No. Supposedly Acorn Tech spends all their money on their grants and little on anything else."

"Hmm, where did you hear that?" asked Artemis.

"Foaly."

Artemis scanned the room looking for a place to sit down. He spotted a table in the corner of the room. It was in a secluded area, behind a large bouquet of flowers. About to suggest they move to the table, Artemis turned to find Holly looking in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I see him!" said Holly. "I'm going to go congratulate Foaly. Save me a seat okay?" She squeezed his arm and took off.

Artemis stood dazed for a moment and therefore was quite surprised when someone bumped into him, causing his plate to tumble to the floor. Staring at the interesting array of colors the juices from the ruined fruit were making on his shoes, he quickly backed away before the damage spread any further.

"Terribly sorry," exclaimed a voice. "Wasn't watching where I was going I'm afraid."

"That's alright," said Artemis, biting down his annoyance as he looked at a sprite. He seemed to be quite rich as he was wearing a suit that had gold cuffs on the sleeves. He peered at Artemis through his glasses.

"Goodness, Mr. Fowl. I didn't recognize you for a minute," said the sprite.

With a flash of realization, Artemis realized that he was a member of the Counsel who often came to meetings a bit late, a servant behind him carrying scrolls and books in a big rucksack. His name escaped him, however.

"The name's Walter Gage," said the sprite, shaking his hand after Artemis explained his memory lapse.

Several fairies brushed by impatiently, as Artemis was still blocking the buffet. Conversations started up all around them, making it hard to hear the other over the din. Moving away, Artemis caught sight of Holly through the crowd.

"So, what brings you here today?" asked Mr. Gage. "It's your day off. You ought to be having a night on the town. Not stuck here with a bunch of boring business folk."

"I'm supporting a friend of mine. He won a grant." Replied Artemis, trying to catch a better glimpse of Holly.

"Ah, Mister Folly," Guessed Mr. Gage. He grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and took a sip. Artemis nodded, taking a glass himself.

The sprite chuckled. "That was quite a show he put on back there. I'm grateful I wasn't in charge today."

Artemis grinned, despite himself. The person in front of him moved over a bit so that he had a clear view of Holly talking to Folly and someone he did not recognize. He gulped down his drink, continuing to watch them, and then started suddenly. The liquid went down the wrong way and he started coughing, staring at the scene in front of him.

"Mr. Fowl, are you alright?" asked Mr. Gage. Artemis tore his gaze away from the sight of Holly letting another fairy hold her hand.

"Y-yes," he managed in shock.

"Good, because you look quite pale actually," Mr. Gage frowned and checked his watch. "Well, I'm afraid I must continue on. So may people to see, so little time. But I must insist that you meet me later today. In my office, at about seven." He handed Artemis a business card. "I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright," said Artemis, his mind elsewhere.

"Excellent," beamed the sprite. He turned and walked away into the bustling crowd.

Absentmindedly, Artemis fingered the card as he elbowed his way over to Holly. The mystery fairy said something to her and she laughed. Jealousy flared up in him and he glared daggers at him. As if he knew Artemis was coming, the fairy squeezed Holly's hand and left, before Artemis could reach them.

As he was considering following the other fairy, he was stopped by Folly, who spotted him first. "Artemis, there you are," the centaur called out. Holly turned and smiled at him. Foaly trotted over. "How did you like the show? I believe it was a roaring success." The centaur wiped away an invisible tear. "Sometimes I impress even myself."

Artemis chuckled nervously. He decided to let the matter go for now to let Foaly have his moment.

"You know to be honest, I'm surprised that I even qualified," stated Folly a little while later. Artemis and Holly were shocked. "It's not that my invention wasn't great or anything, but the holo-ball was only a prototype. Sure, the hologram was flawless, but I still need to work the bugs out of the hovering system."

"Well, they were looking for a holographic invention," shrugged Holly. "They probably didn't care that it didn't always float."

"I guess so," said Foaly.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that," said Artemis.

Holly nodded. "Artemis is right. You won. You should be enjoying yourself. "

Foaly grinned. "Oh, believe me, I am." He had spotted the fairy that had been the speaker that morning. "I think I'll go say hello."

Artemis and Holly looked at each other and burst out laughing.

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A posh gnome opened the door. "Ah, Mr. Fowl, we have been expecting you." He ushered Artemis into the office, which was large even by human standards. Artemis's eyes flickered around the room taking everything in. Then he sat down in front of a large desk. His trademark vampire stare was already in place.

"Now, I am sure that you are interested in finding out why I asked you to meet me here, Mr. Fowl." Stated the sprite sitting behind the desk. His gray suit was perfectly clean and tidy. He leaned back into his office chair, clasping his fingers.

The gnome hurried over to them and placed a large water pitcher in the corner of the tabletop. Two crystal glasses filled with ice followed. He poured liberal amounts into each. Giving one to each of them, he bowed to the pixie.

"Thank you, Harry," said the sprite looking bored. "You may leave now." He took a sip and smiled in satisfaction. He motioned Artemis to do the same.

"This is the purest water that you can find on the planet under or above it. It is nearly tasteless."

Then, thought Artemis, what was the point of drinking it? He smiled politely and drank. It was perfectly chilled and slid down his throat like a fresh breeze. However, he could taste nothing. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the servant hastily leaving.

"You see Mr. Fowl, the Counsel is giving you the day off tomorrow. We need time to prepare for a special event," he paused. "I assume that you have not heard of the Fairy Lunar Festival. It is a tradition that goes way back in our history. It is not unlike the human celebration of the Winter Solstice. Since the solstice occurs at different times for each hemisphere, one in the winter and one in the summer, we choose celebrate it twice a year. One festival is held for each hemisphere. The moon holds a special significance for us, but of course you were well aware of that, weren't you, Mr. Fowl?"

Artemis shrugged. "Of course Mr. Gage." He set the glass down on the table. "This history lesson is quite interesting, but I can't figure out is what this has to do with me." His countenance did not reveal anything to the other fairy. "Goodness, not another dinner," he thought. Mentally wincing, he watched the sprite smile uncomfortably.

"Yes, well," said the sprite. "It has nothing to do with you of course. As it is the weekend, you have the day off. It says so in your contract."

Artemis picked up the glass of water again, and in one swift movement he downed it. "Well, it isn't strong, but it'll have to do." He thought.

"But, as you are so well liked by the fairies of Haven, it would be wonderful if you could attend." A strained silence fell. "Of course you would be paid overtime," the sprite added hastily.

Artemis was not impressed. No amount of money would make him sit through hours of torture on his day off. He'd much rather spend the day with Holly. A slightly glazed expression appeared on his face, as he thought of her.

In front of him the sprite was waiting for an answer. "Look, I appreciate the offer but I already have plans," explained Artemis. "I'm sure you understand."

"Of course," said the sprite smiling. A mouthful of sharp teeth revealed themselves. "In that case, I was hoping that we could talk about another matter that has come to my attention."

"By all means, go ahead," said Artemis.

The sprite rifled through the orderly stack of papers on his desk. He pulled a folder out. "Now this is the request form that you have sent for that pet project of yours. It's quite an order. All that gold. Even with the subject matter being of something of uttermost importance, it is unlikely it will be passed. And that would be such a shame." He trailed off, letting the sentence hang in the air for a moment.

If the sprite had been a mind reader, he would have been shocked at the vulgar phrases coming from Artemis's mind. Outwardly, Artemis did not move a muscle.

"Yes," he shrugged. "I suppose it would." He stared down the sprite with his famous vampire look.

A brief knock sounded from the door. "I'm in a meeting," He called, an edge to his voice. The door slowly opened and Harry poked his head in. "Sir, your guest has arrived."

"Ah! Send her in," the sprite was smiling again, noticed Artemis with a start. He was beginning to suspect that the other fairy was a touch unstable. Harry disappeared. They heard some shuffling and then "Right this way Madame." The door opened again and a tiny female elf nervously walked into the office.

Artemis felt as though all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. She had short red hair that framed her face and wore a light green dress that did the same to her body. The fairy looked almost exactly like Holly. She smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the pixie, shaking his hand. Turning to Artemis she held out her hand to shake and as she did so Artemis caught sight of her eyes. They were a bright blue that reminded him of the ocean. The foreign eyes reminded him that this was not Holly.

He jumped as though stung and gasped her hand, not really feeling it. Nor did he notice that she seemed just as eager to let go of him as he was.

"Mr. Fowl, this my good friend Thorn Ace. She lives on the outskirts of Haven and is going to be staying here for a few days."

Thorn interrupted him. "Did you tell him, yet?"

He faltered. "Yes my dear, but I'm afraid he declined to come. Seems he has other plans."

Thorn looked terribly disappointed. Clasping her hands together, she turned to Artemis. "You must come to the festival. It will be do much fun. I can hardly wait. You see," she whispered grinning, moving closer to Artemis. "I've never been invited to one of these before. You have to get an invite and as I live so far away I've never received one. It wasn't until this year that Walter could get me a ticket to the festival."

Artemis was getting flustered. Genius, he may be, but he was never great around women. And here Thorn was practically mauling him. Well, by his standards anyway.

He turned back to the sprite in desperation, and found him getting up, looking at his watch. "Goodness, look where the time has gone. I'm terribly sorry Mr. Fowl, but I have another matter that I need to attend to. By any chance could you do me a favor and show Thorn around the city. She rarely gets to see it and I'm afraid that I haven't got the time."

It was an incredibly obvious attempt to leave him alone with Thorn. Unfortunately there was nothing that he could do, unless he wanted to be rude. He turned to look at the fairy beside him. When he thought about simply telling the woman that he was busy, Thorn smiled and her hair caught the light reminding him of Holly. She would want him to help the fairy he realized. After all, it was the right thing to do.

He sighed and gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

She smirked catching him off guard. She grabbed his arm and pulled it after her as she ran for the exit. "What are we waiting for?"

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It was very late when Artemis returned home. He walked through the still lobby grateful for the silence. Deep shadows penetrated the hallways, and he found himself standing on top of the welcome mat. He pressed his palm against the scanner hanging next to Holly and his door. It read his genetics and made sure that he was still alive, even if he was doubtful about that fact. The door opened automatically and he was thankful that Foaly had installed the security system for them. It made things much easier, not having to worry about keys.

He flopped down ungracefully on the tan sofa. Running his hands over his eyes, he sighed softly. He was so exhausted. The day had gone by surprisingly fast considering that he was spending it with someone that he had never met before. It had been fun exploring Haven with someone who was as clueless about the place as he was. He knew exactly how to get to Section Eight, the Counsel, the shuttle port and the hospital, but as they weren't tourist attractions he was lost as to where they ought to go.

Thorn had known about a small café, so they had briefly stopped by. Over a mug of coffee she had chatted with him and he had found her to be surprisingly intelligent. They spent an hour discussing his current job situation and how it related to city politics.

After that the two strolled the city. Several times he had gotten them lost, but Thorn had just laughed it off and said that it wasn't a problem. Whenever he looked at Thorn, he couldn't help but think of her almost twin, Holly.

He closed his eyes and smiled, thinking of the pretty elf. Life was surprisingly busy when you actually needed money to pay for things and he missed being able to talk to her.

A light touch on his shoulder took him away from his musings. Opening his eyes, he saw her looking down at him worriedly. "Artemis, are you alright? Where have you been?"

He shrugged grinning. "Around."

"Then why didn't you call to let me know that you were okay?"

"It didn't occur to me. Honestly, Holly I don't know why you're making such a big deal about this." He said, starting to get annoyed. It was too late for this sort of thing.

"Let me tell you something, Artemis Fowl," she said her temper flaring. "I've been a member of the LEP for years and there are things that you hear about out there on the force that would make your hair curl. So forgive me for not wanting to have to go down to identify your body in the morning."

"Holly, I was only showing a friend of Mr. Gage's around Haven. Nothing was going to happen. Stop overreacting," Artemis said. He got up with the intent of going to bed, but Holly blocked his escape route.

"What friend?" she asked curiously.

"Uh," he faltered. Instinctively, he had a feeling that Holly was not going to like hearing about Thorn, but neither was he willing to lie. She'd find out eventually and he did not want to be living with a livid elf in close quarters. He took a step backwards.

"Look, Artemis, I'm sorry. I just worry about you that's all," she said grabbing his hands. He froze mid-step.

"Her name's Thorn," he blurted out.

"Thorn?" she asked in a very strange voice that Artemis did not recognize. It sounded almost hurt. He stood there for a moment in silence, unsure of how to deal with this development. Thankfully, Holly quickly recovered. "S-so you were out with some girl that you've only met today and you couldn't be bothered to call me, the girl who has known you for years?"

He winced.

"I can not believe you!"

"Oh?" he said, trying to save his pride. "Well, its not like you're perfect. What about that fairy you where talking to this afternoon at the luncheon? You seemed happy to talk to him instead of me."

"Artemis," she said shaking her head in disbelief. "You have things so backwards that it is just ridiculous. Just promise me that you'll call from now on."

"Fine, who are you my mother?" he said.

Steam seemed to pour out of Holly's ears. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you just call me?" she said very slowly.

Artemis gulped. "You know, I love my mother very, very much."

Famous last words.

A/N: Don't panic. The next chapter should be up soon. In the meantime, review please.


	8. Rain

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. If I did Minerva wouldn't exist.

A/N: As nobody was able to find the book reference in Chapter 7, I am creating a contest. If you can successfully figure out what book I made an obscure reference to in the past chapter I will write a one-shot of your choice of any fandom (that I am familiar with, see my profile page).

The rain tapped out a rhythm on the windowsill, as Juliet began clearing the plates from the Fowls' dinner. She stopped to pick up a cloth napkin that one of the twins had dropped and toss it into the trashcan by the doorway. Making her way back to the table, which had been full a moment ago, she stacked the remaining dishes, as Mrs. Fowl, the lone occupant of the room watched her. Or rather she was staring into the distance at something only she could see.

"Juliet," said Angeline Fowl, softly. "Have you spoken to Minerva lately?"

She stopped her work to look at her employer. "No, Mrs. Fowl. I haven't seen her in a few days now. She's taken to having meals sent to her room." And I haven't exactly been seeking her out to chat, she thought resuming her work.

"Oh," murmured Mrs. Fowl. "I hope she's alright."

Juliet shrugged unconcerned, as she took the dishes into the kitchen. The sink was already filled with Minerva's dishes, leaving no space for anything else. The countertop covered in deep maroon tiles provided a space for the evening's dishes. Squeezing soap out of a bottle that was almost empty, Juliet began scrubbing.

Minerva had begun eating in her room, in spite of the pleas that she join the family at mealtimes. Although Juliet was fully prepared to drag that witch downstairs by her bouncy blond curls, Butler had privately asked her not to interfere and she couldn't deny her brother his wish, despite her misgivings.

The door to the kitchen creaked open a few inches. "Mrs. Fowl?" asked Juliet in surprise, as Angeline edged her way into the room. Under the harsher lighting her face seemed worn, but she looked her employee straight on, her eyes as sharp as they had ever been.

"Do you know where the twins are?" asked Angeline.

Juliet blinked. It was certainly not the question that she had been expecting. "Y-yes, of course." She said. "They're in the den playing hide and seek with Butler."

Angeline nodded, drawing her arms across her chest. "They're so precious, children. And before you know it they're grown up and running around the world." She sighed, than gave a small laugh. "Heck, mine probably will be actually running the world."

Juliet felt that she ought to be saying something, doing something, but her hands were submerged up to her wrists in soapy water. Taking a towel from beside the sink, she wiped them clean, waiting for Mrs. Fowl to continue.

"He's not really at the Paradizo's. Is he?"

"What?"

"He's my son, Juliet. I know him better than anyone." Her hands shook desperately. "He wouldn't just leave without telling us. Not again."

She stood torn against telling Mrs. Fowl her suspicions. "I-I don't know where Artemis is. I know as much as you do, if not less."

The two women stood in silence for a moment, until one turned to the other and burst out sobbing, throwing herself onto the other's shoulder. Silhouetted in the setting sun through the open window, they shared the pain as the rain slowly pattered itself out.

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The smell of salty popcorn filled the air overpowering all other scents. Artemis idly gazed at the brightly colored lights that covered the many stalls and rides, as he walked around the festival with Thorn clinging to him. She was getting on his nerves actually. The longer he spent with her the less she seemed like Holly.

They passed a Ferris wheel gently turning, as they made their way over to the banquet tables. A voice rang out from one of the stands behind them. "Necklaces! Necklaces, made from the finest gems above or below the Earth."

Artemis ignored him, but Thorn turned, letting go of his arm to run over to the stall. With no choice but to follow, Artemis walked over slowly hoping that she would be done by the time he got there.

The jewelry was laid out on blue velvet that accented the gray and golden chains. Attached to them were stones in various shapes that were finely polished until they shone. Thorn was enjoying herself thoroughly by picking up each, holding it to her neck and checking out her reflection in the tiny mirror attached to the wall.

Waiting with forced patience Artemis let his eyes travel idly. They came across a delicate chain hanging from a hook on the wall in the very back of the stall. It glowed softly with a silvery white color, a crescent moon attached to the end. His breath caught in his throat as he imagined how Holly might look wearing it.

Next to him, Thorn loudly proclaimed how it was too bad that she didn't bring enough money to buy anything, jerking him out of his stupor. Determined to ignore her, he looked pointedly over at the many tables that were quickly being filled with fairies eager for the food to be served.

"There won't be any place to sit if we wait much longer Thorn." He said finally.

"Oh, alright. Let's go," Thorn sighed heavily.

The booth's owner, desperate for a sale, called after them. "Wait! Don't you want to buy something for your lady friend."

They kept on walking.

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The banquet was held in a courtyard surrounded by large marble columns that held intricate carvings that faintly reminded Artemis of ancient Greece. Thin wooden strips of wood created a makeshift ceiling above their heads while the interlacing of the timber left gaps that vines and, at various points, gigantic purple flowers looped through. A constant dusting of pollen fell on any fairy that had the misfortune to be sitting under a blossom, which rendered their food inedible. The entire area was filled with a subtle sweet fragrance.

Choosing a seat far away from any of the blossoms, Artemis slid onto of the gleaming wooden benches that sat parallel to the long tables that were covered with elegant white tablecloths. Thorn slid in next to him, her leg brushing gently against his, from under her dark blue dress. Glancing around, Artemis wondered what the rest of the night would bring, idly pondering what Holly was doing.

After that disastrous fight the night before, which had ended with him shutting himself in his room panting from his brief sprint from the living room, he had thought it best if Holly was given her space. When he had awaked this morning, he had realized that the festival would be perfect for this purpose. One could only come if invited and Holly had never mentioned any invitation to Artemis.

Thorn grumbled at his faraway expression. Tugging his sleeve impatiently, she tried to draw him into a discussion about his work. Artemis had to turn his full attention to her in order to keep himself from revealing any departmental secrets. He tactfully dodged her questions and started a new conversation about ethics, which she tore into most enthusiastically, making him wonder absentmindedly if that was what she had wanted in the first place.

So distracted was Artemis that he did not notice another fairy sliding into the space next to him, until he reached for his glass and accidentally brushed hands. The fairy looked at him in astonishment, fiddling with her large braid that draped over her shoulder.

"Artemis," said Holly incredulously. "I thought you hated these festivals."

He swallowed down his surprise. "I thought you hated them too." He said lamely shifting in his seat.

"Well, I made an exception," Holly said crossing her arms. An icy silence fell between the two.

Thorn leaned forward in her seat so that she could see whom Artemis was talking too. Her eyes narrowed. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Thorn, who invited you to the festival?" she did not wait for Holly's reply before stating, "I received an invitation from Walter Gage. He's a member of _the_ Counsel."

Holly looked at Thorn and then at Artemis frowning. Turning back to Thorn she asked, "We're not related by any chance?"

"Oh, I doubt that," said Thorn cooling, stirring her drink with a straw. She smirked at the other fairy. Holly resisted the urge to shove the cup up Thorn's nose.

"Well, if you must know who invited me," said Holly clenching her teeth, "I also received an invitation from the Counsel. I often get invited to these events because of my history with the LEP. The messenger delivered it to me yesterday." She glanced pointedly at Artemis. "It happened to be one of my cousins. Apparently he had forgotten about it and had hurried over to the apartment where a neighbor told him about the conference. He came over as fast as he could and arrived just in time for the party.

"Yes, he's a real joker Fred," she continued, enjoying the look of realization on Artemis's face.

Recalling the fairy that had been talking with her rather sheepishly, Artemis replaying yesterday's events over in his mind. Now that he thought about it, it had been a fairly platonic interaction.

"He actually pretended to introduce me to Foaly, as though we've never met before. It was hilarious. We were both in stitches," she said mildly, leaning her chin on her hand. "It's too bad he had to hurry away before you could meet him, Artemis, but there was a meeting coming up and his Sector is quite strict about punctuality."

There was a brief lull in the conversation and even Thorn didn't dare to break it. Artemis cleared his throat and placed a hand on top of Holly's. "I'm sorry Holly," he said sincerely, looking straight in her face as their gazes caught.

"A-alright," managed Holly as the distance between their faces slowly decreased. "Apology excepted."

"Good," said Artemis softly, only a breath away from her. He moved his other hand over to hers as well and entwined their fingers smiling.

A light cough startled them and they jumped apart. Thorn eyed them with barely disguised emotion burning in her countenance. It was impossible to discern exactly what she was thinking, however. "Artemis, now that you have spoken to Holly, perhaps you could tell me what is your opinion of labor laws," said Thorn.

"Thorn, is it," inquired Holly.

"Yes, that is my name," replied the elf, reaching over Artemis's shoulder to shake Holly's hand, pressing into Artemis as she did so. He wiggled uncomfortably, but was ignored. Holly gripped Thorn's hand sharply and gave it a strong shake that caused her to wince. Hastily retreating back to her seat, Thorn massaged her fingers under the table in a futile effort to get the feeling back in her hands. Holly smiled sweetly at her.

"Yes, well," said Thorn. "Nice to meet you Holly," she snarled.

"Likewise."

Before anything more could be said, waiters in black and white suits swept into the courtyard baring silver trays on their shoulders. Different kinds of breads and fruits lay on the gleaming surfaces, some of which Artemis had never seen before. As they were set on the table in front of him, Artemis began to wonder if fairies were vegetarians, though he doubted that, that included dwarfs who seemed prone to eating anything within their reach.

Sounds of laughter and idle chatter filled the quad, as Holly began loading her plate with various goods. Artemis took a golden brown roll that had been formed in the shape of an open rose from the tray. Biting it curiously, he found the bread to be fluffy and light. Beside him, Thorn picked at her food with a look of boredom on her face.

"Artemis, pass me a pear will you?" asked Holly. He quickly complied and took one for himself as well, eager to try everything. Fairy food was so pure that it was far more pleasant to dine upon then normal human food. Not to mention that the dishes prepared for the festival were of the highest quality.

After the appetizers had been eaten, the trays were whisked away and replaced by individual plates of fruit salad with a sugary sauce full of blueberries, strawberries and various other things Artemis could not name drizzled over it all. By the time dessert arrived, Artemis was so full that the tiny meringue that was placed in front of him did not disappoint him, though he had expected something a little fancier. Holly was likewise pleased by the cookie that was full of flavor, containing chocolate and spices that offset each other in taste.

Throughout the meal it had been hard to hold a conversation with the noise level being so high and Artemis admitted to himself that he was relieved. The tension between Holly and Thorn seemed almost tangible. Whenever Thorn would try to bring up a topic for a debate Holly would interrupt and ask Artemis to explain the issue to her. Several times Artemis could have sworn that Holly already knew the answer to the questions that she posed, but he answered her anyway delighting in the chance to share his vast knowledge.

Artemis found himself hoping to be able to debate some of the issues that Thorn posed with Holly as soon as they got back to the apartment and could hear again. Her viewpoint was always different then his, which made their conversations all the more interesting.

A debate between Holly and Thorn began, making him extremely uncomfortable, as he was a living barrier between the two.

"Well, you're completely missing the point, Holly. And who said that you could join in the conversation? I'm trying to talk to Artemis, if you don't mind," snapped Thorn.

"He's my friend," said Holly. "I can talk to him whenever I wish to. I certainly don't need your permission."

Thorn banged her hand on the table in anger, knocking her glass of off the table. In a flash, Walter Gage was hovering over them. However, he ignored the elves and spoke directly to Artemis.

"Enjoying the festivities, Mr. Fowl?"

"Yes, quite," he said.

Mr. Gage studied him for a moment and then spoke in a stage whisper, leaning a little closer to Artemis. "You know, the booths are about to shut down. If you haven't seen everything, or if there was something you wanted to buy, now would be the time to go check it out."

A picture of the moon necklace flew into his mind's eye. He got up, silently thanking Walter Gage. "Holly, Thorn," he said. They fell silent and turned to look at him curiously. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take one last look around the fairgrounds."

Holly smiled at him and spoke before Thorn could do anything. "Oh, that would be just fine Artemis," she said suspiciously sweetly. "Thorn and I will have a fine time getting to know each other better." She reached over and patted Thorn roughly on the back, making her hiss in pain.

"Yes," winced Thorn. "Don't worry about us."

Artemis hesitated, turning to Mr. Gage for help, but he only shrugged and continued on his way with a fresh glass of something in his hand, filled to the brim. Deciding that staying was worse then leaving, Artemis walked the length of the tables until he found the entrance to the courtyard. The rest of the festival could be viewed from there. Mr. Gage had not lied about the booths shutting down. The lights had been dimmed and an air of abandonment fell over the entire place.

Carefully making his way and retracing his steps he located the stall, but not before he tripped over one of the ropes that tied down one of the tents, illuminated only by the tiny blue sparks that his body released to heal his scrapes.

As he approached stall owners were busy packing up their wares that were on display, apparently believing that the fair was over and their customers gone. The particular booth that Artemis wanted to see was no exception. Artemis stood in front of the stall, cleared his throat and waited for the fairy to notice him. The fairy jerked his head up surprised to see Artemis.

"Good evening sir," the owner said carefully. "Would you like to see some of the necklaces that were previously on display? Some have been sold, but others have been packed away, I could fetch them if you'd like."

Artemis dismissed his offer with a wave of his hand. "Actually I came to inquire about a specific necklace that's made of a most unusual material." He paused for a moment watching the salesman's eyes flicker to the wall behind him, where the moon necklace hung and then spoke again. "I believe you know the item that I speak of."

The fairy turned around and carefully lifted the necklace of its hook. He walked slowly back over to Artemis, as if reluctant to show it to him.

"Is this it?" He held the chain up in what was left of the light of the carnival and the necklace shined brilliantly.

"Yes. I believe so," said Artemis carelessly. "How much?"

The salesman shook his head, the shadows giving his face an odd pinched look and lowered his fist. "It's not for sale, sir. I have others like it, if you would wish to see, but not this one."

"Well, why not? You have it on display at your booth. Why else would you bring it to the festival if not to profit from it?" Artemis asked, his voice free of the annoyance that he was beginning to feel.

"It is a family heirloom. It's been in my family for centuries. We always bring it to our shops to bring good fortune. I cannot sell it in a good conscience." His fingers tapped nervously on the countertop, one hand clenched around the silver chain.

"Really," said Artemis. "An heirloom made of pure Horayan? That seems extremely unlikely to me as the material was only invented about a decade ago." He had come across the material in his studies. Horayan was an artificial compound found only in fairy laboratories. It had yet to be discovered by human beings. Besides being prized for its durability, it was also known for its beauty and worth a small fortune.

The shopkeeper fidgeted in indecision.

"Very well," Artemis said abruptly. "I will take my business elsewhere."

"No, wait!" the fairy called out to him. "Ten gold bars and its yours."

He paused, as if weighing the matter over in his mind and then turned and headed back over to the fairy. Wordlessly he pulled out a fairy version of a credit card that contained not only his picture, but a brief description of a few strands of his DNA. The fairy reached out his hand eagerly, but Artemis did not hand the card over.

"I want proof first that this is really made out of pure horayan."

The shopkeeper grumbled and dug through a few of the boxes scattered at his feet. As he waited Artemis recalled from the books that he had read that the proper way to test if an item was pure horayan was to put it through a special machine that looked similar to an ordinary juicer and did generally the same thing. The exception was that its machinery was also made from horayan and would not break. If the necklace was indeed made completely of the material, then it would come out of the machine unharmed. If not then it would be either broken beyond repair or dented, depending on the amount of horayan covering it.

Seeing as how the machines cost more then the necklaces themselves, it was unlikely that the fairy owned one and doubtless was planning to use one of the less expensive methods.

The shopkeeper straightened up holding a knife in his hands. Moving quickly, he plunged the blade into the necklace. The entirety of the blade bent as it encountered the stronger metal. He then presented the ruined knife to Artemis, who felt it carefully to be sure that it was not made of a lesser metal that would easily bend under the slightest pressure.

Artemis nodded his approval and passed over his credit card, which was scanned, and the necklace handed unceremoniously over. "Please doing business with ya," the fairy said. "And who, might I ask, is this for?"

Allowing himself a small grin he replied. "It is a gift," he said, pocketing the card. "For my mother."

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Holly sighed tapping her fingers on the table as she watched Artemis leave the courtyard. Turning around to confront the girl who had stolen her Artemis, Holly was surprised to discover that she was already walking away.

"Where are you going?" she called out to Thorn. "We told Artemis that we were going to wait for him."

Thorn glanced back at Holly over her shoulder. "That doesn't mean that I have to sit here until he comes back, now does it?"

Holly ground her teeth in annoyance and got up intent on following Thorn to wherever she was going. She soon found that difficult however, as Thorn seemed to be quick on her feet. Expertly, she ducked around the large crowds of fairies and outmaneuvered Holly who tried to match her step by step.

Their footsteps pounded on the stone floor. Thorn ducked behind a marble pillar. Turning the corner, Holly came to a stop and scanned the landscape for any sign of the elf, but could not see her in the darkened festival grounds. Thorn had vanished and Holly didn't know how.

She took a step forward and then another. Looking backwards at the party briefly she continued onward until she came to a small garden hidden in an alcove. A statue of the Frond sat in its center with rosebushes surrounding it. She barely glanced at it, her attention focused elsewhere. It would be so easy to turn around and go back. Thorn had never done anything to earn her trust or friendship, yet Holly could not ignore her LEP honed instincts that something was amiss.

And she continued thinking that when a fist suddenly slammed into the back of her head and she found herself being thrown backwards, landing with a loud thump on the ground. The image of Frond looking majestically into the sky was all she could see as her sight began to fade, healing sparks filling her vision.

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Wordlessly, Juliet slipped into the living room and sat down beside her sleeping brother on the couch. She ought to be looking for the twins who had escaped, but she couldn't bring herself to at the moment.

Her brother struggled into conciseness. Juliet let him attempt to wake at a normal pace, and then she put an arm under his shoulder and pulled him up.

"Gah," said Butler unintelligently. "I must have fallen asleep again while watching the twins. Sorry, Juliet." He looked down at her and flinched instinctively at the anger in her eyes.

"Where is Artemis? And don't lie to me this time."

A/N: Review or I'll be forced to rhyme. : )


	9. Steam

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl.

A roar was all Holly could hear. When it had begun she did not know, but it appeared endless, consuming her mind entirely. It was a sea of sound and she was powerless to do anything but let it take her where it willed. Light stabbed her closed eyes violently, as her body struggled back into consciousness.

"Holly? Holly, are you alright? Answer me!" came a panicked voice.

Her head hurt horribly. What had happened? Where was she? Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared up into Artemis's concerned face. He was bending down over her, his short hair falling into his face. Holly glanced at her surroundings and saw that she was still in the garden, by Frond's stature. The air was slightly cooler now then it had been before alerting her to the fact that a good deal of time had passed since she had been knocked out.

She closed her eyes again in confusion. Artemis gently stroked her face and she smiled, turning her face into his palm, causing shivers to run through him. "Holly?" he asked again roughly.

"I'm fine Artemis," she managed. "I've been better of course. What happened?"

"I'm unsure. We found you lying here covered in bruises and scrapes," he swallowed hard. "It looked as though someone tried to mug you, but you weren't carrying anything valuable, so I don't know why someone would go to all that trouble. I think that all your magic's drained because you just weren't healing yourself." His face was chalk white.

Painfully, she tried to sit upright. Artemis shifted to the side giving her room to rise and put a supporting arm around her shoulders. She coughed and felt her head start to clear.

"Here, let me get you something to drink," said Artemis getting up after he was certain she could sit by herself. He sprinted towards the courtyard, puffing slightly.

Still partly in a haze, she considered calling out after him that it was alright, he didn't have to give her anything, but by the time she had gotten her thoughts together he was much to far away. Holly examined her arms curiously, looking for any signs that she was still injured, but her skin was smooth and unbroken. Artemis must have healed her.

She frowned. The whole thing didn't make any sense. Why would someone attack her without being provoked? And how had they managed to sneak up past her?

"Holly Short, famous LEP captain. What a joke," said someone out of Holly's range of vision.

Holly twisted her neck around and saw that Artemis had not left her alone. Thorn stood off to the side of the garden, her mouth contorted with distain.

"What are you doing here?" asked Holly bluntly.

"That's no way to be talking to the person who saved your life. Honestly, who would have thought that a trained policed officer like you would need backup from a civilian," said Thorn, her face curved in a mocking smile.

Holly glared at the elf, but said nothing.

Thorn waited for a moment than continued. "I found you laying on the ground. At first I thought that you had tripped over a stay branch or something, so I went to find Artemis. It was only when I returned with him that he noticed how severely you'd been hurt," said Thorn sounding uninterested. "Arty had to heal you before you'd wake up."

Holly frowned at the elf. "What are you doing out her anyway?"

"What do you think I was doing Holly? I went out for a quiet walk around the edge of the garden. Then I heard voices coming from behind the hedges. I thought someone might be having a private party or something, so I went to check it out. This place is so overgrown that it took me a while to find the entrance. When I did, well," Thorn trailed off fingering a few of the purple blossoms that grew on a bush near the pathway.

"Did you seen anyone?"

"No. By the time I had found you, you were alone and out cold."

The two stared each other down, while Holly tried to determine if Thorn was telling the truth. Thorn was the first to break eye contact. "Look if you don't believe me, then I really don't care. It's your fault for trying to tail me, so don't try to pin this on me."

"Fine," said Holly icily. "But if I find out that you've been lying to me, just know that assaulting an LEP member is a serious offense, and that I will gladly be the one to bring you in."

Thorn kicked angrily at the ground, scuffing up her black heels and looked towards the courtyard where the party continued on in full force. A black speck hurled towards them, barely recognizable as Artemis in his trademark suit. Red faced, he came to a stop near the edge of the garden and finished the few final steps slowly, futilely trying to regain his dignity. In his hands was a glass of water, which he handed over the Holly before collapsing on the ground beside her, breathing heavily.

"Thanks Artemis," she said, grinning at how ridiculous he looked, her annoyance about Thorn fading away. "But I think you need this more than me." Holly splashed a little bit of water at him playfully before he ripped the cup from her hand and drowned it in one gulp.

Both Artemis and Holly agreed that they'd had enough of the festival. Once Holly felt well enough to walk on her own, dismissing Artemis when he said she ought to seek medical attention, they took a taxi home leaving an unhappy Thorn in the company of Mr. Gage.

Slightly the two entered their apartment, depositing their coats onto the coat rack that stood just inside the doorway. The artificial sky was darkening quickly now, signaling that night had begun and the Festival was officially over. Artemis flipped on the lights next to the sofa. Drifting into the kitchen, Holly set a kettle on the stove filled to the brim with water. She took out two mugs and rummaged thought the cabinet, looking for the cocoa mix, when Artemis opened the door to the kitchen cautiously. Holly beckoned him over.

He sat down on one of the stools and clasped his hands together, watching Holly pull out the two mugs and set them next to the stove. The she joined him, leaning against the counter waiting for the water to boil.

Artemis coughed. "I'm sorry by the way. Really," he said eagerly. Holly looked at him confused. "About your cousin and what I said."

"It's alright." Said Holly drawing imaginary circles on the countertop. "I just got carried away last night too."

"Maybe, but I was being a prat."

"I'll accept that," said Holly the corner's of her mouth twitching.

Artemis crossed his arms, a fake frown on his face.

"Oh, come on now," said Holly laughing. "I was just joking. Do you want a hug?" she asked.

He turned around and held out his arms. Her laughter stopped instantly and a light blush covered her cheeks as she settled into his hug, deciding not to worry if this was crossing any boundaries. She nuzzled her head onto his shoulder. This was right.

Her eyes were beginning to drift shut when Artemis pulled away. He smiled at her as a wide yawn escaped her mouth. "Perhaps we ought to get some sleep," he said.

"You can if you're tired. I'm going to wait for the cocoa."

"Very well," he said. "Goodnight Holly. I hope you had an alright time tonight, despite everything" He stood up, sticking his hands in his pockets.

The water hissed and bubbled in the kettle altering to the fact that soon it would boil. Holly got to her feet to tend to it, coming face to face with Artemis who had suddenly gone pale. She stopped and looked at him.

"Artermis, what…" She trailed off as he slid a hand behind her head, tangling it in her hair. He bent down and kissed her gently. Then he straightened up looking embarrassed, but pleased.

"Night," Artemis said retreating out the door, leaving Holly in a state of shock.

The kettle began hissing and spitting, a shrill scream came from the cloud of steam, yet Holly did not move.

The morning dawned much too early. Light peeked in through the curtains traveling slowly across the floor, illuminating a pair of fuzzy white slippers briefly before resting on the face of Holly Short, who in turn, grumbled and rolled over, trying to avoid the light, Nuzzling her head into the soft pillow, she fell back asleep.

Time passed before a voice sounded from outside her room. "Holly! Holly, are you awake?"

_I am now._ She thought annoyed.

Mumbling something incoherent, Holly barracked her ears under the pillow.

_Thanks a bundle, Artemis._

Artemis.

The word swirled around in her thoughts for a moment. Memories from the night before came back to her. She bolted upright, just as Artemis peered cautiously into the room. Her pillow went airborne and it smacked him in the face with a soft thump. Peeling off of his face, the cushion dropped pitifully onto the floor.

"Oops, Sorry" said Holly, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes, well. I trust you had a good nights sleep," said Artemis.

"Until you barged in here," grumbled Holly, pulling on her slippers. "What was so important that you had to wake me up?"

"Check the time," was his reply.

She reached for the clock by her bedside obediently. 9:00 AM, it read.

"We're late for work! Why didn't you tell me? Never mind," she added hastily, as he opened his mouth. She jumped out of bed, tore open her dresser searching through it frantically before pulling out a plain pair of jeans and a white blouse. "Just get ready to go, I'll meet you in the living room in a minute. If we hurry there's still a chance that we can sneak in without Vinyáya finding out. There's nothing we can do about Foaly, but I can always bribe him with a bushel of carrots. Go!" She said gesturing widely with her hands. "I can't change with you in here." Artemis blushed and left. The door swung shut behind him.

Throwing on her clothes, Holly rushed to the kitchen. She grabbed two muffins and shoved the blueberry one in Artemis's face. "Have a muffin," she said. Grabbing the other in her teeth she hopped back to her room, attempting to put on a pair of heels at the same time.

Several minutes and one blueberry-stained suit later they were running down the street outside their apartment, halfheartedly waving for a taxi. Despite the amount of yellow cars in the street, not one had yet to come to their assistance.

In front of them a pixie walked out of an apartment building. Leisurely he walked down the steps to the sidewalk. With a tiny pathetic excuse of a wave, a taxi was instantly summoned to his side.

"Unbelievable," muttered Artemis, puffing as the exercise took its toll on him.

Holly did not bother to answer, but rather sped up easily overtaking the pixie before he had the chance to blink. Shoving the surprised fairy out of the way, she clambered into the open door of the taxi waving Artemis in after her.

The fairy grumbled angrily, but walked away when Holly glared at him, leaning over Artemis to do so. Shutting the door with a snap, she told the cab driver to take them to the parking lot near the secret entrance to Section Eight.

Cars honked as they drove past them. A massive pileup was occurring on their street. Slowly the cab maneuvered its way to the main road where the traffic was clearer. Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the entire world being against them getting to work on time, perhaps they'd make it without Vinyaya noticing after all.

Holly sat silent, her face turned towards the window deep in thought. The buildings flew by as they swept through Haven. At last the car slowed to stop outside the headquarters of Section Eight. The driver, a burly looking gnome with a few missing teeth, rolled down his front window and checked out the deserted parking lot. He looked back at them oddly.

"Ya sure this is where you want to be?" he asked in a thick accent, as Holly and Artemis got out of the back. "There's nothing but a lot back 'ere."

"Yes. We're sure." Said Artemis. He pressed a couple of coins in the driver's open hand. The gnome's eyebrows lifted slightly as he counted them.

"Nice doing business with ya," he said mock saluting Artemis before taking off down the street, tires screeching on the pavement.

Following Holly, who had already begun to walk towards the secret entrance, Artemis picked up his pace before coming to a stop under the garage where Holly was looking up at the holographic craggy ceiling. He stood beside her and reached in his pocket for the remote that would activate the fairy safe air propulsion system. In his shirt he found nothing but lint. Holly had not realized anything yet and she turned her face toward his. "What's wrong?" she asked, when he looked at her like she had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.

His face turned red and as he opened his mouth to stutter out an excuse, the system came to life and vaulted them into the main hallway where they crash-landed in an undignified heap at Vinyáya's feet. The Commander looked down at them, a remote in her hands, her left foot tapping impatiently.

"Umm, we're here?" said Holly with a feeble smile as she pushed herself to a sitting position using Artemis's back as support.

"Yes, you are." Stated Vinyáya, no cheer in her eyes, forced or otherwise. Holly gulped. "Fix yourselves up and join me in my office."

Holly jumped to her feet saluting her. "Yes, Commander." Artemis merely waved a hand weakly.

Turning Vinyáya walked down the corridor, her combat boots clicking on the floor. She opened the door and disappeared into it without a second glance back at them.

Holly was just helping Artemis to his feet when an automatic door slid open to their right and Foaly stuck his head through. "Excellent, you're finally here. Vinyáya's been on the warpath. What are you doing on the floor?"

"Nothing much. It's just so nice down here." Said Artemis dully.

"We've already meet Vinyáya unfortunately," said Holly while Artemis dusted off his suit. "She, uh, caught us coming in."

Coming completely out of the doorway, Foaly shook his head and let out a whiney. "Boy, I don't envy you. It's bad enough without you being late."

Holly's eyes sharpened. "What are you talking about? What could possibly be worse?"

"Short! Fowl! My office if you please."

"Last night," said Foaly, offering no other explanation. He pushed them towards the door Vinyáya had entered. Commander was marked in bold gold lettering at eye level. "You'd better hurry." He backed away from them.

With a great reluctance, the two placed their hands on the scanner, their hands sinking into the gel. An electrical spark jumped onto the scanner, giving them a small shock. The scan complete, the door slid open to reveal Vinyáya rummaging through her desk drawers occasionally grabbing a file and throwing it onto her desk, which was a mess of papers. Holly hesitated at the threshold. It seemed that they had been forgotten, but then Vinyáya looked up and waved them in impatiently.

Pulling a chair over from the corner, Holly sat down next to Artemis who had the impression that he was in a principle's office.

Placing a final file down, Vinyáya looked at the two. "Glad to see you could join me at last. Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused for me?"

Silently, Artemis and Holly agreed that it was best not to answer that question. Interpreting their silence correctly Vinyáya sighed, pulled out a remote from her pocket and pointed it at the ceiling. A screen smoothly slid down the wall and the sounds of a projector warming up could be heard. "Don't you too ever watch the new?" she asked annoyed.

A news report appeared onscreen. "Welcome back to Channel 42, Haven's number one source for news that effects your life. And we are still bringing continuing coverage of an attack at the Fairy Lunar Festival. One LEP member's innocent evening nearly turns tragic only several feet away from a bustling party. Sources report that had it not been for the quick actions of Haven's newest fairy, Artemis Fowl, the female officer would not have survived. New details are uncovered, but first here's our own Lindsey Rena with the weather."

Vinyáya paused the screen and pocketed the remote. "I'd show you more but somehow I think you know the rest. Even more than what the media is broadcasting." Her eyes narrowed dangerously and her face was livid. Artemis looked at her warily. It seemed that this story might be tragic after all. Even Holly looked nervous.

"How come," she began. "I had to hear about this secondhand and not before the press had gotten their grubby little paws all over it."

"This," said Vinyáya, pointing her finger in their faces. "is utterly unacceptable and irresponsible of you. Short, you may be one of my best captains, but if you continue to behave this way I'm afraid that I will have to demote you. The LEP is taking a big PR hit with this one."

An icy feeling of guilt stole over Artemis, making him uncomfortable. He couldn't just let Holly take all of the blame. "Don't blame Holly," he blurted out. "It was my fault. She was hurt and I wasn't thinking clearly. I should have taken charge of the situation and taken her to the hospital, but I panicked and brought her home."

The wooden chair arm creaked loudly as Holly shifted her weight suddenly, trying to cover her surprise. Vinyáya looked at her questionably before turning her full attention back onto Artemis.

Home. He had called her apartment home.

Vinyáya's mouth twisted into something that was almost like a smile, but somehow lacking a certain warmth. "Fowl, give it a rest. Just make sure it never happens again."

He opened his mouth to protest, but Holly stepped on his foot quickly. Taking the hint, he settled back in his chair, waiting for Vinyáya's judgment.

"Now, I have pulled a few strings and I've got a shuttle waiting to send you both topside. You are to come back here as soon as you're both running hot. We'll make a press release in a few hours and it would be best if you were here for it. You're dismissed."

Holly stood up and saluted Vinyáya while Artemis hastened to copy her. "Yes, Commander."

"Good. Now go see Foaly. He's getting your standard equipment ready." Vinyáya waved them out of her office and immediately returned to reading memos.

The centaur was waiting for them in his office with a number of objects laid out on the metal table in front of him. He turned in his swivel chair to greet them with a smile of sympathy.

"Nice to see you, favorite little trouble makers of mine. Did you play nice?" he asked.

"Put a sock in it Foaly," said Holly sighing, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"Ah, to soon to be making jokes then?" Foaly picked up a black jumpsuit and handed it to Artemis. "There you are fairy boy. A standard suit that will fit over your best tux without wrinkling it." He winked at Holly, who rolled her eyes, fighting a smile.

Artemis walked over to the desk and grabbed two helmets from Foaly. He passed one to Holly and donned the other clumsily. Flipping up the visor, he looked carefully at the items on the desk. "Foaly, what is that?"

"What?" said the centaur innocently. "Oh, you mean this?' He picked up a piece of material that was so thin and clear that it almost seemed to disappear if one didn't keep a close eye on it. Handing it to Holly, he asked, "What do you make of it?"

She gingerly turned it over in her hands examining it. It resembled two ovals with the bottom halves connected or a misshapen heart.

"Don't worry about ripping it. The material is as tough as steel, as well as being heat resistant. The only way to make a dent in this thing would be a close blast from a neutrino." Holly stretched it experimentally, proving the fabric flexible. When she let go, it snapped back to its original size.

Artemis watched silent, as frown on his face as he tried to discern what the fabric was.

The centaur couldn't contain himself any longer. "This is my newest wing design. I was hoping you would help me out by running a field test on these."

"These can fly?" asked Holly skeptically.

"Yes," said Foaly sourly. "I've already run several tests on them. They are most definitely capable of lifting fairies."

"Then perhaps you can explain to be me how it runs, as I can not find a power source," said Artemis. "Unless of course, it's designed to run using an outside power source."

"You are correct," said the centaur, "This is powered by your magic. You attach it directly to the skin on your back. You undo this part here," he said, showing Holly the place were the material fused together. "There's glue here and it's quite strong and cannot be easily removed once attached, without a serum that I've produced. Now, and this is very important Holly, it has to touch skin directly in order to work." He produced a black tee with a low back.

"Change into this. You can wear another shirt over it for now, but when you fly you must use this shirt only. You should still use standard wings until you replenish your magic of course. It might be best not to mention this to the Commander."

"Vinyáya not approve of you method of testing?" asked Holly, a tiny smirk on her face.

"No," admitted the centaur. "but this will prove to her that they are perfectly safe. Oh, and don't fly too high. I haven't tested it for heights yet."

"This isn't exactly convincing me that it would be a good idea to help you," said Holly.

Foaly smiled hopefully at her. "But you'll do it anyway. Right?"

Holly sighed. "Yes."

A/N: Long time, no update. I'm sorry about that, I've just been having trouble coming up with inspiration for writing this, but the reviewers keep me going. Thank you for your support.


	10. Catch and Release

Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl was not my idea.

A/N: It's been far too long since I've updated this. I can only hope that someone out there is still reading. You can expect another update soon. Hopefully, sometime this week.

Butler sighed and stood up, his entire bulk following him, and gestured for Juliet to follow him.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know, but first there's something you need to see." His hand gripped the finely polished wooden banister tightly, as he ascended the stairs, his sister following behind.

They entered Artemis's room. Juliet sat down on the bed, wrinkling the comforter, while Butler switched the computer on. As it warmed up, the blue background flickered slightly. Butler dug around in his suit for a moment, finally fishing a small disk from the inside of his enormous sleeve. Juliet was surprised. Whatever he had to show to her, it must be important if he had to keep it on his person at all times.

Butler slid the disk into the hard drive and clicking sounds were heard, before a tiny icon appeared on the screen. Clicking on it revealed three folders. One was labeled Artemis Fowl, one labeled Butler, and one labeled other. It was the last that Butler clicked on. A tiny box appeared on the screen.

Password?

Butler typed it quickly, but Juliet's eyes caught it anyway. It was the family motto, how quaint. She stood up and peered over her brother's shoulder for a better view.

The folder opened and in it was a single video icon. Butler turned toward her as he talked, explaining. "It's for anyone really, but it ought to work especially well on you. It shouldn't take too long for you to remember." He opened the file. "Just promise me you'll watch it until the end."

Artemis Fowl the Second's face filled the screen. "The film is meant for two purposes. First, it provides a total recall in anyone besides myself, who has been mindwiped. Secondly, it ought to provide enough information to prove myself and my employees, sane." He paused, allowing what he had said to sink in. "Also, if the LEP is watching this, you might be interested to know that this disk is transferring all of your systems data onto my own computer, which is at a secure location." He smiled smugly at the camera. "Enjoy."

***

Vinyáya was exiting her office just as they left Foaly's office. The commander nodded to them. "I'll be seeing you soon," said Vinyáya. "Don't take any unnecessary stops." She looked pointedly at Holly, before continuing down the hallway.

Artemis smirked at the annoyed look on Holly's face.

***

The shuttle ride was short and in no time they were standing in the chute, strapping on their wings. They were unaware that their arrival had been closely monitored by another fairy in Haven and that at this moment signals were being sent.

***

Minerva entered the Fowl Manor through the front door, pulling off her light jacket to hang on the coat rack. She had a satisfied glint in her eyes. There was the sound of voices and footsteps and she eagerly smiled at Butler when he emerged. Juliet followed him with a strange expression on her face that quickly changed to surprise at seeing her. "Where have you been?" asked Juliet as she took in Minerva's appearance. Mud splattered her shoes, her coat was half off, hanging down her right shoulder and her cheeks were bright red, as though she had just come back from a run.

Although she had hoped to get to Butler first, she decided that perhaps having the two siblings on her side would make things easier, though she doubted that this would change Juliet's opinion of her.

Trying to keep the pride out of her voice, she said, "I've found Artemis. I know where he is."

"Are you sure?" asked Butler, as he grabbed his coat from the rack. He was shoving his arms into it as Minerva nodded and started rambling the location. Butler took a GPS from his pocket and started plugging in the coordinates.

"How did you find him?" asked Juliet. "You've been locked up in that room for as long as I can remember."

"I've been looking over the clues and piecing together the possible culprit. I sent a few things to my papa's private lab. I also have a few contacts," she said airily. "I was just meeting with one." Try as she might, Juliet would not be able to detect a hint of dishonesty in her voice, for it was all true.

"We should hurry though," Minerva said, looking at her watch. "My contact said that he'd only be in the location for a few minutes. He's been held captive by the…ah," she looked pointedly at Juliet. "The people from below, Butler."

"She knows," said Butler, checking his gun. She frowned as the information sunk in.

"Ah. Well, then. These fairies aren't the kind that we've dealt with before. I'm not sure what they want with him. They seem to be keeping him below the surface most of the time, but they let him up for fresh air every once in a while, when they send a drained fairy up to replenish their magic."

"The ritual," said Juliet.

"Yes," said Minerva. "It's my belief that he's feed them a lie about a similar ritual for humans and that's why they've been allowing him to return."

"Should be easy enough, if there is going to be only one fairy and a magic-less one at that. Do they send guards?"

Minerva shook her head. "They don't consider him enough of a threat. Physically he could never outrun their wings. As for his mind, I've heard a rumor that they might be drugging him."

"All right, then," said Butler. "I'll get him back."

Minerva nodded and started pulling on her coat.

"Oh, no," said Juliet, before Butler could even open his mouth to tell Minerva to stay. "You are not going with him."

"She right. It's too dangerous," said Butler.

Juliet nodded, although that wasn't the entire reason she didn't want Butler taking her. _She's up to something_. "Do you think you'll need backup, brother?" she asked. "Fairies can be quite tricky."

"What about the twins?" he asked.

"Mr. and Mrs.'s Fowl are here, and I just put them down for a nap, so they'll be fine for an hour or two. We'll lock up this place before we leave. Nobody else will be able to enter."

He nodded. "Alright, get your coat and let's go."

Juliet ran back into the hallway and grabbed her emergency coat from the very back. Butler had bought it from her a couple of years ago and she had stocked it personally. It was modestly stylish and looked flimsy, but it was really made out of a special bulletproof material and contended many pockets, perfect for anything she might need. She slipped her hand into the front pocket and emerged with a pair of sunglasses, which she slipped on and a fully loaded gun, which she placed in the holster she took from the pocket next to it.

Minerva wiped the surprise off of her face.

Juliet noticed her looking over the coat. "Don't even think about going near this when I get back. It's for your own good; some of these pockets are booby-trapped. And I'm the only on who has the combination to remove it from its hook."

"I wouldn't," said Minerva firmly.

"Good," said Juliet, opening the front door. "Tell Mr. and Mrs. Fowl that we've gone away on urgent business, but don't mention Artemis. We don't want to get their hopes up if it's a false alarm."

"One thing I should mention," said Minerva, "Is that there seems to be a Holly double working with these fairies, so don't let that fool you."

Butler nodded, before following his sister outside.

The door swung shut behind them. There were sounds of a car being started and then moving away.

Minerva went to fetch the twins.

***

Thorn was pleased with the way things were turning out. Holly was sure to be receiving some pretty harsh criticism from her boss right about now. Going to the authorities to report the crime hadn't been necessary, but it was definitely a plus. Poor girl was going to be so flustered when she arrived that she wouldn't know what to do.

***

Holly steered the ship into the landing dock. Artemis clenched his fist, feeling the metal necklace against his hand. He had discovered the necklace in his pocket when he was changing into his flight suit and decided to give it to Holly. He had hidden it in his left hand and was trying to figure out when to present it to her. He didn't want to fly holding the necklace; it could easily slip from his fingers. As Holly prepared to open the hatch, he realized he had to give it to her now, because once they were outside all they would immediately head for the nearest oak tree.

"Holly, could you wait a moment," he said.

She turned around and looked at him. "What is it, Artemis?"

"I got you something at the fair." He held his fist up and loosened it, grasping onto a single loop, allowing the necklace to drop into view. The moon almost seemed to glow in the dim light of the shuttle. "I thought you might like it."

Holly reached forward and lifted the necklace out of his hands, examining the piece of jewelry closely. She smiled at Artemis. "Help me put it on?" she asked, a teasing glint in her eye.

"Alright," said Artemis, taking back the necklace. Holly pulled back her hair and Artemis swung the necklace around her neck, fumbling with the tiny silvery clasp.

Holly turned her head, so she could see Artemis out of the corner of her left eye, and bit her lip. "When we get back, after the press conference, we have to talk about things." She felt Artemis freeze for a fraction of a second.

"Alright, Holly whatever you say," said Artemis nonchalantly, bending closer to her shoulders, so that he could see the clip better. It snapped shut. "There you are."

Holly let her hair fall down. Artemis turned away and busied himself with putting on his helmet, his posture rather stiff.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad we're going through this together." she said. "You know, the press, the Commander and everything. It's awful, dealing with things alone. The media especially; Like vultures, they are."

Artemis smiled, but it was not a true one. Holly sighed, popping the hatch and clambering out. "_Men," _she thought, as he landed on the ground beside her. Walls of dirt surrounded them in a short tunnel that lead upwards into an abandoned fairy hideout that was a couple of meters wide. The two were a tight fit and they were constantly brushing elbows and bumping into each other. Finally, Holly managed to get close enough to the entrance to peer out.

The hideout was on the edge of a large field of hay. In the distance she could see a dusty red farmhouse, with an unpainted wooden porch running around it's front. On the porch she could barely see a woman longing in a rocking chair. A straw hat covered her face; she appeared to be dozing. A slight breeze lifted strands of her blond hair into the air, teasing it free from a long braid.

This tunnel wasn't popular, as it was easy to be spotted. She had complained bitterly when she found out which chute she was using, but at least she knew that the area was secure. Never the less they would have to be careful. Holly removed a piece of camfoil from Artemis's backpack and carefully rearranged it over him. It was a bit short and part of his legs was still showing. Holly swore, ripping the camfoil off of him. "It's no good. We can't afford someone seeing a pair of shoes flying. That's the last thing we need. We'll have to walk by foot. It's not too far from her anyway. Come on, try to look inconspicuous."

"I'm a teenager in a helmet wearing artificial wings appearing from behind a haystack in the middle of nowhere. I'm afraid being conspicuous is required."

"Oh, hush. Well, what would you propose?"

"Obviously, you should shield. I need to be covered up in the foil and then we'll make a run for it. We have a better chance of going unnoticed if we move faster. From this distance anything moving quickly will look like a small animal."

"Alright, fine. That's not a bad plan," said Holly begrudgingly. "Only, I've got next to no magic left. I don't think I can shield for too long. I was hoping that we'd be landing in a more discrete area so this wouldn't be a problem. I can't stay invisible for more than a minute, so I'll have to fly." She flipped her visor down, and crouched down low, getting ready to leap out of the hideout. "Ready?" came the voice in his helmet.

"I'll meet you there Holly," he said.

She nodded and disappeared. He felt a gust of wind and heard a barely detectable whine of an engine. He stepped out into the field, holding onto the edges of the camfoil and made a run for the line of trees that marked the beginning of the forest. The heavy wings on his back made it difficult to move quickly. He kept half an eye on the shimmering ball of air that was nearing the end of the field. Holly had made it beyond the final haystack when disaster struck.

A sharp crack sounded and a bullet clipped the side of Holly's shoulder. She cried out, clutching her shoulder as she came back into visibility, tumbling towards the earth. Holly managed to twist upwards again, barely skimming the grassy ground. A round of bullets shot at her as she swung herself around and dived behind a haystack. Pulling out her neutrino she shot a round in her assailants direction, but he sidestepped them, returning fire.

Suspicions rising, Artemis looked back at the porch in time to see the blond woman hurling down the field, taking time to press a pair of black sunglasses to her face with her left hand. A pistol was in her right.

He tore off the camfoil knowing that it was highly unlikely that Juliet would harm him. "Holly!" he shouted. "Catch!" He crumpled the foil into a ball and threw to her outstretched arms. A shot ripped past him, hitting the tiny metallic ball dead on, causing it to sputter, electricity spasms rendering it unusable.

He pulled off his helmet just as Butler stepped forward from the covering of the forest, stepping carefully towards the haystack that Holly was crouching behind. Butler did not seem as if he was trying to shoot down Holly. If he had wanted to, he could have easily, as there was little to no covering in the field and his bullets would have ripped through the haystacks. However, there was a small chance that he was trying to get close enough that he wouldn't hit his charge. Artemis closed his eyes briefly, thinking, than opened them again. Holly was attempting to knock out Butler, but she couldn't get a clear enough shot from her position.

Artemis did the only thing that he could think of. He ran to Holly, tossing his helmet aside and threw his arms around her, shielding her temporarily. He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered. "Can you get away safely?"

Holly shook her head slowly. Her brain was buzzing as she glanced around. "This was the worse place possible to be ambushed. As soon as they get in range, they'll pry you away. Besides, I'm not leaving without you." She didn't ask why they were doing this, but only assumed that they believed her responsible for taking Artemis away from his family.

"Stop!" cried Artemis in desperation, but the Butlers ignored him. Juliet came upon them first, standing a few feet away. Holly sent a fan of multiple blasts her way, but Juliet simply jumped over the rays, landing on the other side deftly, not unlike a cat. Then Butler came from behind the haystack, his gun pointing at Holly's heart. Nobody moved.

The air was silent and it seemed to Artemis that everything was taking longer than it should have, a side effect to stress no doubt.

"_Fly_," he hissed in her ear, then jumped away from her, attempting to grab Butler's gun. The man could have brushed him aside like a fly, but he had no intentions of hurting his charge. Butler flipped him over onto the grass as gently as he could after a few seconds of struggling, He had bought Holly some time and she jumped into the air in a last attempt to escape. Unfortunately, Juliet was not easily distracted. Confident in her brother's ability to safely deal with Artemis, she had her eye set on Holly.

Letting her gun fall to the ground, she sprang into the air, tackling Holly in a perfect Lou Thesz press. The two fell to the ground with a thump and there was a loud crack that made Artemis wince, but it turned out to only be Holly's wings. They couldn't take the strain of a fully-grown human and had split nearly in two.

She groaned as the full force of Juliet's weight hit her, making a bigger show of being beat than necessary. Butler turned his attention to Artemis, helping him to his feet, ignoring his protests. Meanwhile, her hand was sneaking towards her neutrino, which had fallen and now lay almost a foot away.

"Juliet, I demand that you let Holly go this instance," said Artemis. "This is foolishness. Attacking a friend of mine? Of yours?"

"She's not leaving until she answers a few questions," Juliet replied, taking a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket.

Holly's fingers closed around the neutrino.

Butler was the first to notice, as Juliet was busy talking to Artemis. He charged forward with a roar, intending to knock the weapon from Holly's grasp. This time, however, her aim was true. Butler slumped to the ground, dazed. Holly managed to get another shot aimed over her shoulder before Juliet ripped away her neutrino. She dug her knee into Holly's back as she leaned backwards, tucking the neutrino away in her pocket and pulling out another gun simultaneously with her other hand. She kept this trained on Holly.

The wings cracked a little bit more, as Juliet dug her knee further into Holly's back. "Up elf! And no funny business," she said. She got no further as Holly's broken wings shifted into their automatic basic flying programming. Artemis got no more warning than a click as his wings synched with Holly's. He was dragged off of his feet as the runaway wings flung themselves into the sky, heading in a zigzagging pattern towards the forest. Holly's wings whined pathetically as they tried to follow the same path, but they were broken beyond repair.

Juliet and Holly stopped struggling for a moment and turned to watch Artemis who was quickly becoming nothing more than a dot in the sky. Butler groaned, as he struggled upright.

Artemis struggled not to panic as the wind whistled by and his wings rocketed around in the air currents. By now he was flying over the forest, still moving erratically, but with a basic pattern. By adjusting the straps on his wings, he attempted to steer himself towards the ground. His stomach lurched as he dropped a feet in the air. Well, at least that worked. He yanked on the cord again. He dropped another feet and continued to do so, until he was a good ten feet from the ground. Loosening the straps entirely, only holding on by his fingers, he positioned his body accordingly and let go of the wings with a deep breath. The ground came rising up to meet him, angry that he had been away so long.

When he landed, arms and legs spread out to decrease speed; a jolt ran through his entire body. He lay, panting for a moment, allowing the feeling of pure blind panic to run through his body. Then, he sat up slowly, testing his joints, making sure that he wasn't injured. Miraculously, only his left shoulder seemed to be badly bruised.

The branches of various trees of black and brown blocked the sun. Patches of golden light flitted in and out of holes in the mesh. In front of him, he could see a huge oak tree. Standing up, he walked toward the tree and laid his hand on its trunk. His mind had already deduced that this tree was not old enough to be used for the ritual and he found himself wasting precious seconds by reflecting on the irony.

Then he turned back to the direction that he had traveled from and walked away with an unwavering pace.

***

In the back of a black limo, Holly sat watching the countryside admiring the sights of the above world. Her seat was cushy and plush and the air within the car was kept at a perfect temperature by the air conditioner. She frowned as she considered the gas being used to power the vehicle. Stupid mudmen, wasting the resources they had. Still, she had to admit the accommodations were quite nice, considering the metal-laced ropes that were encircling her hands and feet.

Clearing her throat, Holly waited until Juliet's eyes flickered over to her, her face a blank façade. "Can I ask why I have been treated this way?" asked Holly carefully. "What have I done wrong? I thought that we were friends of a sort." The car hit a small bump, jolting the elf.

"I'm _Holly Short's_ friend," replied Juliet, before falling silent for the rest of the drive. Her eyes were locked once more on the road and suspicious thoughts poked their way into her mind. She drove faster.

"But I'm Holly," insisted the elf, as Juliet dragged her unceremoniously from the car. "Juliet, stop and listen to me. What are you doing?"

In the seat behind her, Butler grunted wordlessly. He was laid out against the seat, still slightly dazed from the neutrino blast. He really was getting too old for this sort of thing. Holly felt guilty that he still hadn't recovered. "Sorry Butler," she whispered. If her brother hadn't trained her meticulously to hear across a crowded room, Juliet never would have heard it. Her eyes narrowed and she tapped her fingers against the steering wheel restlessly.

At the manor, the car rolled to a stop, crunching against the gravel on the driveway. She opened the door to the car and pulled out a bound elf. Muttering that she would be back to her brother, she walked down the pathway. Right before reaching the entrance to Fowl Manor, Juliet had stopped short. An idea had occurred to her. Placing down Holly, she walked up to the doors and unlocked them. Then she bent down and undid the bindings on Holly's feet.

"Listen carefully elf," said Juliet. "I can catch up to you in a millisecond if you try running so don't even bother. I'm giving you a chance to prove that you are who you say you are. Fairies have to be invited to enter a house. Well, listen here. I am considered to be a family member of this household and I decree," added Juliet, feeling a bit silly about her word choice. "I decree that Captain Holly Short is allowed to come inside."

Holly smiled approvingly. Nice head on those shoulders, she thought. She's grown up a lot. Standing upright, she crossed the stone steps as quickly as she could, though having her hands tied made things a bit awkward. She stumbled across the threshold with a feeling of relief. Her eyes shut. No feelings of nausea, weakness or any other sort of symptom. She opened her eyes, to find Juliet staring at her in disbelief. A look of anger and annoyance crossed her face. "That _girl_," she snarled. "What does she think she's playing at?"

Holly coughed. "Can I be untied now?"

Juliet pulled a knife from her pocket and slit through the ropes with a quick flick of her wrist. "Perhaps we'd better compare notes," said the blond-haired girl. "So when I kill that witch I don't have to be unsure about my motive."

"Whom exactly are we referring to?"

"Minerva. She's been staying with us ever since Artemis disappeared," Juliet explained her odd behavior and the almost too good to be true tip that she had provided. "I never trusted her, but I didn't think she would sink this far to cause trouble. I believed that she at least cared about Artemis a little bit, in terms of having a peer, but it looks like I was wrong."

"Where is she now?"

"Here. At least she was," Juliet grumbled to herself for a moment.

Holly thought for a moment. Minerva was as intelligent as Artemis; therefore any dealings with her ought to be cautious. "Perhaps we should pretend that you still believe I'm an imposter. That way we might have an idea of what Minerva's up to."

The sounds of creaking wood could be heard, accompanied by the sound of a heel striking the floor. Mrs. Fowl walked into the room. Her eyes fell upon Holly and she gave a sharp intake of breath. "My goodness. Who have we here, Juliet?" she asked, attempting to examine the sight of Holly's long pointed ears without being extremely obvious.

"Oh," Juliet cleared her throat. "This is Holly. She's a, um, a-"

"A good friend of your son," chimed in Holly.

Angeline Fowl's eyebrows rose and she spoke disbelievingly. "Oh, really."

The light brush of lips against hers, the feeling of warmth and satisfaction. Holly blushed as she considered that she was a very, _very_ good friend of Artemis.

"Well, he's not here."

"She's got some information that Minerva might find interesting. Ms. Fowl, do you know where is she?"

"Oh, with the twins I presume," said Mrs. Fowl. She frowned suddenly. "Did you say your name was Holly?"

"Um, yes?"

"He said…hold on a moment," she said absentmindedly, walking out of the room. Juliet and Holly heard the sounds of items being shifted about and doors being opened and closed. Angeline came back into the room, clutching a jar in her hands.

"I know this might seem silly," she said. "But he mentioned you, before he-" she sighed, "left."

She held the jar out to Holly. The glass was old and dust twisted light around inside it, but if one looked close enough, the tiny mound of dirt and the acorn the lay on top of it, was visible.

"He didn't say what he wanted with it. I caught him with it and was mumbling about a Holly, but when he saw me he tried to tell me that it was just a decoration. I doubt that, but anyway, I think he would have wanted you to have it."

Stretching her fingertips toward it, she was hauled back by Juliet. Angry, she turned to glare at her, but Juliet refused to meet her eyes.

"No. It's very delicate. Here, Mrs. Fowl, I'll take that," Juliet said, smiling grimly. "I've got to get Holly settled in." She took the jar, the glass cooling her skin. "I'll put this on a shelve, where she can see it."

A board shifting caught Holly's attention. She looked up in time to see a head of blond hair duck behind the corner. Minerva.

"Alright," said Angeline. "Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like. Please join us for dinner."

"Thank you," Holly smiled gratefully. She had no intention of doing such a thing, but was pleased about the invitation nonetheless. With a firm hand on her shoulder,

She was escorted up the stairs and into a guest room that had been specially equipped by Artemis as a holding cell.

Juliet closed the door behind her. It clicked as it locked automatically. This particular room was not bugged, so she didn't have to worry about Minerva listening in.

She handed Holly the jar. "What do you think we should do now? I want to know what Minerva's plan is, but I don't like the idea of leaving you locked in here. Too much could go wrong."

"Perhaps, but we don't have a choice. This is the only chance we have of convincing her that I'm not a threat."

"But she saw the acorn."

"Hmm," Holly said, an idea occurring in her head. "Well, the only solution is to make sure she keeps seeing what she wants to see. And that is you being mistrustful of me." Prying open the jar, motioned Juliet to cup her hands. Then she poured the dirt into her hand.

"It has to look like you never gave me the acorn. I'll try not to spill any of the dirt." Holly took out the acorn and dug a tiny hole in the dirt mound, placing the acorn inside and covering it up again. The resulting blue sparks made her sigh with relief. Pulling back her hand, she smiled dreamily and then snapped herself out of it.

"Right, so…" Holly held out the jar and Juliet scooped the dirt back inside. Dusting off the acorn, which had cracked a bit during the ritual, she placed it on top and then sealed the lid.

"I'm guessing that won't work again," said Juliet.

"Yep. It's a one-time deal. Make sure your hands are absolutely spotless," she commended. "Now, I think I can bust out of this place if necessary, so don't worry about me. Just make sure that Minerva is convinced of your opinion of me. In fact," Holly smiled in a way that reminded Juliet strongly of Artemis. "Don't be afraid to show some doubt about me being a doppelganger."

"Why? That will make her suspicious."

"Yes, but only of you changing your mind and trusting me. But she won't suspect that you already have."

"Because," continued Juliet, realizing what Holly was thinking, "she knows I wouldn't trust her enough to tell her that if I had already sided with you."

"And she'll keep an eye on you, instead of me."

***

Hitchhiking was an art, Artemis decided. It was one that he never thought to learn and he was regretting it at the moment. The road he had come to stretched out before him made completely of gray cracked cement with weeds poking through. Few cars had passed him by from both sides of the road. It did not matter to him which direction the car was going. He was lost, so either way it would be useful to know where he was and which direction he should be heading. And he was hoping that someone might be swayed by the prospect of a monetary reward.

Unfortunately, that plan needed something simple. And that was a car actually stopping.

While it might seem heartless of these people to leave a teen stranded in the middle of nowhere, Artemis knew he looked a sight. His suit had remained remarkably clean and wrinkle free during the whole ordeal. However, the fairy suit had failed to remain, well, intact. But despite the large pieces of fabric that had been torn, the strength of the flight suit provided him with a sense of safety, so he left it on. Whatever situation he was about to be rushing into, he wanted to have as much control as possible. And that meant wearing the clothing that could stop explosions. Possibly.

Examining the tears again, Artemis came to the conclusion that the modified suit Foaly had made for him simply did not have the strength that the other equipment did.

The faint rumblings of a motor caused him to lift his head and stare at the car coming down the road. It pulled to a stop in front of him. Purple paint was peeling of the car, revealing the original yellow. The scent of fried fish wafted over him. A woman stuck her head out of the window. A mound of frizzy, neon red hair was piled on the top of her head. The effect was atrocious.

"Need a lift?"

Artemis swallowed. "Yes, thank you. Are you heading in my direction?" He gave her the name of the town closest to Fowl Manor.

"Yeah, sure I can drop you off there. I've got business there anyway. Hop in." She opened the passenger door. A light tan seat with darker brown blotches greeted his eyes.

Artemis tried to feel relieved instead of terrified.

He slid into the seat, wincing slightly. His driver gave him a wide grin and pressed on the accelerator, jerking him back in his seat.

***

Juliet exited the cell and closed the door behind her quickly. She checked the lock a couple times, rattling the handle to make sure it was secure. A frown on her face she paced down the hallway.

It didn't take long for Minerva to show up.

"So?" asked the girl impatiently.

Juliet remained silent, frowning. Then she stopped and whirled on the younger woman. "How did you get that information about Artemis? And are you sure that fairy isn't Holly? She seems awfully like the original."

Minerva placed her hands in front of her palms up. "I promise that fairy is not Holly. My source, who I'm afraid that I cannot name, was certain of the fact. And her information led you to this look alike and Artemis I presume," her voice was infuriatingly calm. Juliet was thankful that she didn't have to pretend she wasn't angry.

"Fine. But I'm keeping an eye on her. There's something strange going on here Minerva and I don't like it one bit." She walked back down the hallway, ignoring the blond girl's reaction, with the intent of helping Butler out of the car. Then she stopped.

"Where are the twins?" she asked.

Minerva was watching her closely. "We're playing hide and seek. It's my turn to seek."

Her mind went through a bunch of places the twins could get into extreme trouble in the manor. "Well, hurry up and find then. There's no telling what they could get up too."

Minerva smiled. "Will do." She turned and walked away, but Juliet saw her eyes flicker towards Holly's cell.

When Juliet got down the stairs she was surprised to find him standing mostly upright, in the hallway. He was slightly pale, but looked healthy otherwise.

"Artemis?" asked Butler. Juliet shook her head. "Nothing yet. I've secured the girl, and I was going to call one of our contacts, see if anyone saw anything, a sort of crash or something moving quickly."

"Why didn't you follow him?" asked Butler, his brow furrowing. "Maybe you could have caught up to him." He radiated calm worry and disappointment.

Juliet sighed. "Maybe, but I couldn't just leave you there, not the way you were. What if there were fairy reinforcements or more doppelgangers? And by the time I had got the two of you in the car, I couldn't even see Artemis anymore." She bit her lip. "I hope I did the right thing. I trust Artemis to get himself out of this mess. But I'm going to find him. I promise."

Butler nodded. "I'll go get the satellite working. We'll find him in no time."

Twenty minutes later, they were still scanning the pictures coming through the satellite connections when the doorbell rang. They looked over to the right at a small screen depicting a young man in an impeccable black suit with what looked like at first glance the remains of a large trash bag. He pushed the buzzer again.

Juliet gently pushed her shocked brother over so she could press the small gray button hidden under the table. The gates swung open and Artemis stepped inside.

***

He had had better days. Far better days, in fact. His mind couldn't help but race as he walked on the hard concrete. The most unhelpful thoughts keep racing through his brain, like what his parents' reaction would be and if they would ever forgive him for leaving a second time. His stomach clenched as he drew a deep breath. His shoes pinched terribly and the mile he had been forced to walk before now hadn't helped. Before today he had never appreciated how long his drive way was.

A drizzling rain started up, speckling the gray slab that stretched out along the length of the grounds. He walked faster, hoping to get inside before the gray clouds that threatened his suit unleashed their full fury.

The door to the house swung open and his mother stepped out. His heart stopped and a most inconvenient wave of emotion swung over him. "Mother." He murmured before reaching out a hand to her. She ran to him and engulfed him in a massive hug. A sniffle coming from his shoulder caused his eyes to water despite himself.

"Arty, Arty," she murmured, holding him close. "Where have you been for so long?"

He held her tightly. "Away."

A third person joined their hug and Artemis looked up to see his father, carefully wrapping his arms around the two of them. Closing his eyes, he pretended for a moment that it would always be like this. Then he let go.

Pushing his parents back gently, he stood up straight, facing them directly.

"Mother, father," he said his voice even. "I hold the two of you in the highest regard, and I am glad to see you, but I must go find my friend Holly."

His mother frowned. "Holly arrived here a little while ago. She's in the guestroom, but I don't see the hurry."

During his walk, Artemis had had plenty of time to debate giving his parents an explanation, but decided against it, because really what could he say. Time was of the essence. He backed away from them. "I'm sorry, I've got to go." He turned and bolted around them, running as fast as he could. The sight of Artemis running shocked them enough to buy him a few seconds. He ran unevenly, like a three-legged animal, but with purpose and a single-minded determination.

The door was wide open and he slammed it against the wall as he past through. His breath was whistling through his teeth, and his lungs burned as he struggled up the stairs. Slowing down as he turned through several hallways, until he found himself in front of Holly's cell. It was wide open, a large dent in the door, bits of the lock scattered about. Nobody was to be found.


	11. The White Queen

A/N: Remember that time I told you I'd have a chapter out in a week and then it was three years? So funny story… I wrote it. And then completely forgot to post it. I've been going through these years thinking to myself, well, I may have abandoned the story, but at least I got to the part where—

But it turned out I hadn't. Because I never posted that bit.

When I realized that, I immediately started editing what I had written before and now I'm going to post it here.

Which goes to prove that you can guilt me into writing with reviews. I want to thank everyone who has commented here over the years, and special thanks to Sarena TheStoryTeller, who's review made me realize I had made a massive mistake.

Enjoy.

* * *

Holly had waited several minutes before putting her plan into action. Perhaps it would have been safer to wait longer, but she was tired of other people telling her what to do. Not to mention, the longer she waited, the more likely Minerva would consider this as a possibility. Unwrapping the necklace from around her shoulders, she filtered it through her fingers, smiling as it glowed against her hands. Good old Artemis.

She examined the gray square that had been bolted over the keyhole. It was touch sensitive and the fingerprint from the Butlers' or Artemis' hand would make it open immediately. Unfortunately, it needed to be from a living hand and Holly wasn't that irritated with Artemis. At least not yet.

Fortunately, the room was designed to hide its true purpose from Mrs. and Mr. Fowl and thus, only this this slab of metal and plastic stood between her and a good old-fashioned keyhole. Placing her fingertips against the slab, she closed her eyes, imagining warmth flowing down her arm, into her hands. Blue sparks gathered around her fingertips and she could feel the metal's temperature rising, until she had to pull her hand away from the heat. While her magic began healing her burned fingers, she dug the crescent moon necklace into the weakened-most part of the metal. Pressing down with all her strength, Holly cursed the solid craftsmanship. The pad was unmoving, but than the metal began bending forward slowly. Enthused by the reaction, Holly ignored her burning muscles and continued working at the edge, occasionally giving the edges of the metal another zap of heat, until with a snap a large chuck of the plastic flew off as the metal wilted. A small portion of the keyhole was now visible.

She paused; holding her breath, she listed for a sign that someone had heard. After a few moments, Holly began threading the chain through the keyhole until it hit the floor on the other side. Using the scrap of plastic, she teased the bottom of the chain back into the room. Now she had both ends in her hands. The right end was threaded through the keyhole and she worked the left end around and up until they were right next to each other. Only two centimeters of wood between them. She braced her foot against the door and pulled until the wood began to groan. She pulled harder, wincing as the metal cut into her hands, but didn't stop, until with crack the lock snapped off, taking a chunk of wood with it.

She could clearly see the double bolts of steel, which was truly what was keeping her locked in, but it was no matter. The lock gone, the door gave about an inch, creating a gap next to the hinges through which Holly could see the hallway. With a grin, she looped the chain around the first of the hinges and began to pull.

Holly looped the necklace around her wrist several times before turning invisible and inched down the hallway.

The first window she came to, she opened. The wooden siding protested, creaking loudly. The sound of footsteps set her heart beating quickly. She vaulted herself up to the windowsill and grabbed hold of it firmly. Then she dropped down, keeping a tight grasp on the window. Her legs felt weightless as she hung, her arms taking on the strain. She still had splinters in her hands from breaking down the door. She held her breath.

A face came to the window. The glare on the glass masked the features of a woman, but judging by her height it was Mrs. Fowl. The human looked around puzzled at the open window and then reached forward, with the intent of shutting it. Carefully, Holly eased her hands back until just the fingertips clung to the edge. The window frame grazed her hand gently as it shut, trapping her outside.

Looking down, she saw a small outcropping about ten feet down. Bracing herself, Holly swung herself to the left and let go. She landed crouched on the roof, her feet smartly slapping against the gray tiling. The shock traveled up through her legs and she winced at the sudden sensation, but other than that she wasn't hurt.

Holly crouched under the thin outcropping of roof as rain started gently falling. It was only a scattering, but the rain could easily slow her escape down. She would have to leave now, before it got worse. Slipping off the thin gray tee she had worn over the low backed shirt, she shivered as the misty air chilled her skin. She twisted her neck around to look at the wings calculating their merit. They were flimsy looking things that hardly looked capable of lifting a twig, much less her off of the ground. If the rain started coming down in rivers and streams, the wings would probably rip into shreds. She braced herself.

Closing her eyes, she tried to activate the wings. She opened one eye and looked behind her. Nothing. "Of all the times to fail, Foaly…" she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she tried again, closing her eyes she tried to imagine the wings as an extension of her body. Picturing the wings in her mental eye, she ran her mind over every inch of clear fabric. She pictured blue sparks running through the material like blood rushing through veins, rushing from a single spot on her back, where the wings connected with her skin.

She felt a flutter and her eyes snapped open. Her back hunched over, she flexed her wings and felt whole inside as they responded to her. Standing up, she wasted no time and leaped into the sky. Her heart beat in overdrive in perfect tune with her wings, and she flew faster than she ever had before. The lack of heavy suit and bulky equipment allowed the wings to carry her even higher.

Holly let out a laugh of triumph and happiness. Let them try to stop us now, she thought. Let them try.

And that was when a neutrino blast caught her right ankle, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

Her wings fluttered for a moment and then stopped. Eyelids slid shut as she dropped like a stone, cutting through the air. Her attacker stood calmly, lowering the weapon, waiting as the elf dropped.

And that was her mistake. Holly's eyes shot open as she plummeted, and caught sight of the other elf. As she had hoped, Thorn had relaxed, believing that her shot had knocked Holly out. Keeping her body as loose as possible, Holly counted the seconds she had until she struck the ground. The patch of green was ten feet from the tip of her nose, when she snapped to attention, holding her body straight and reactivating her wings. She zoomed towards Thorn, hands outstretched. The elf's eyes widened and she brought the gun back up. But not quickly enough. There was a thwack as the metal hit Holly's palm. She used the momentum she had built up to force the gun out of Thorn's hand. The gun clipped the side of Thorn's face as it flew forward.

Thorn cried out and slapped a hand to her face.

Holly flopped onto the ground in a semi-resemblance of a crouch, grasping the neutrino, which had landed between two rocks. She was breathing heavily. The neutrino blast might not have been strong enough to knock her out, but it had tired her out severely. She could feel her magic pushing back the dizziness and she took a steadying breath, even as she twisted the neutrino, turning up the settings. She noticed the bottom of the gun had a splatter of Thorn's blood as décor.

The neutrino crackled as the mechanism turned off. Of course, thought Holly, Nuetrino 3000's only respond to the person who owned them. Centaur, you will be hearing it from me. She turned to face Thorn, ready to use the gun as a blunt weapon if need be.

Holly drew in a sharp breath as Thorn turned to face her. Her gun was covered in the elf's blood. It had to be Thorn's blood, she wasn't bleeding- and it had only taken the LEP trained elf seconds to recover from her fall and turn- certainly not enough time to heal a scrape. Holly knew from experience that facial wounds tended to bleed. And she had knocked Thorn good. And yet…

And yet there wasn't even a scratch on Thorn's face. Her cheek was perfectly smooth. No blood. It was as though Holly hadn't even touched her.

Holly blocked a weak punch from the elf and then feinted and managed to swipe her palm against the check that she had hit. Her hand came away covered in a sticky red. Thorn seized the opportunity to push her away with both hands, making her stumble backwards. Forearms blocked the other blow, as the pair circled. Holly was loath to try anything too hastily. Who knew what else the elf had up her sleeve? It must be some sort of powerful spell, thought Holly, to hide someone's appearance to thoroughly.

"And what kind of name is Thorn anyway," shouted Holly, dodging a punch and then landing one of her own against her opponent's shoulder.

Thorn slapped her across the face. Her cheek stung and she could feel the ghost of the impact repeating over and over again, becoming fainter each time. "A fake one," Thorn hissed. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Holly had had enough.

Her steely grip encircled both of Thorn's arms, pinning them to her sides. Thorn pushed back, but she was far weaker than Holly, who jammed a boot in her back, knocking Thorn onto her face.

A humming sound erupted by her ear. Something instinctual shot through Holly's spine and she dove to the side, landing on the ground as a ray arced through the empty air that she had been occupying a moment ago. Looking around her, Holly could see no other being besides Thorn, who was still on the ground next to her. No- wait-

There was another humming noise and Thorn disappeared from sight. Holly grasped at the space Thorn had been occupying, but came up empty.

Growling in frustration, she kicked at the wet dirt with her right leg in a sweeping motion, hoping to illuminate her attacker's position. It landed on an invisible leg, floating for a moment, bobbing slightly as her attacker shifted backwards, before landing back to the ground. Holly listened carefully, her limbs tensed, as she slowly moved into a crouch. The smell of wet dirt hung in the air. There was a faint rustling, and then it faded. About twenty yards away, two blades of grass bent unnaturally. They were on the move.

Holly looked about. Only an oval of crushed grass to her right. They had taken Thorn and everything else with them, including the nuetrino. She stood up, sighed, and took a step forward, vanishing into a haze.

Without her uniform, she was still somewhat visible, unable to blend into the environment as perfectly as her attackers had. So, she took to the skies, careful not to fly too high. The drain on her magic was greater than she had expected as she tried to shield and fly at the same time. It was not easy to concentrate on two different movements, so she flew rather choppily, occasionally flickering into visibility in order to compensate for the wind. She didn't have too far to fly. Spotting the black car she had arrived in, she concentrated intently on staying invisible until she was directly above the car. Then she dropped gently onto the roof of the car and she waited. Finally, the front door clicked open and Butler stepped out, leaving a two feet gap between himself and the car interior. Holly took a deep breath, holding it in so that Butler couldn't hear her exhale, shielded, then flipped herself gently into the empty space and into the vehicle with one motion. The smell of black leather assaulted her nose as she used a thrust from her wings to dive under the dashboard.

She held still, trembling from the effort it had taken to shield.

The door swung closed with a click. Holly drew air into her chest gratefully. After waiting an acceptable amount of time, she peered carefully over the dashboard. Butler had gone on to the manor. Un-shielding, she scrambled over the gearshift onto the passenger seat. Sliding down to the floor, she opened the glove box and pulled out her neutrino. She grinned, allowing her hands to reacquaint themselves with the metal, happy to have a working weapon again.

Her helmet was excavated from the trunk, which she had been able to break into through the backseats. Using her necklace, she tore through part of the seat and broke through the lock on a tiny door connecting the two spaces. The opening was a little tight and it took a little wiggling to get her through. Once she strapped on her helmet, Holly felt no guilt in using its laser to cut a larger opening, and crawled back out easily. Covering up the mess in the backseat as best she could, which was hard with all of the burned bits, she knelt down and switched her helmet's mic on.

"Okay Foaly, brace yourself. We've got a situation."

Haven was quiet. The People moved about uneasily, a strange feeling in the air. Today felt more sluggish then usual. Fights erupted all over the city, as the People grew more and more irritable. Today wasn't their day. Tomorrow didn't look good either. The light didn't change fast enough- it changed too fast- that pixie was looking at me funny officer. Trouble Kelp wasn't happy at all himself; to be out patrolling the streets today, of all days, but it was necessary. The feeling of unrest was growing and the LEP were getting nervous about how thin everyone was stationed. Still, it didn't stop him from rubbing the growing crease between his eyes and wishing he had never gotten up in the first place. The feeling had been there the moment he had awoken and as the day wore on, it only got worse. He didn't know what was going on, but he wanted it too stop. What was worse was that everything he was feeling, he could see reflected in the people he dealt with. The two little boys he had pulled apart in front of the playground glared at him with red irritated eyes.

He walked them down the street, to the first's house, delivering him to the disapproving stare of his father. The other child stuck out his tongue at him, before disappearing into the house.

Sighing, he walked smartly down the stairs, running his fingers over the tiny scrape he had received from one of the boys, who hadn't stopped fighting until he had pulled out his neutrino. He reached down into his core, and pulled at his magic. A spark or two would do the trick.

The sensation stopped him in his tracks. It was like a dry heave.

His magic was dry and his thoughtless probe had thrown him like he had tried to walk up a step that wasn't there. He shuttered at the sensation.

Trouble frowned, wondering how he had run out so completely. It hadn't been two weeks since his last trip above the surface. Of course that explained the irritation, he hadn't run this low since his early days at the academy. He and a few buddies had competed to see who could go the longest without the ritual and still be able to do magic. It had earned him a demerit and he had lost. In the end the only thing that had made it worthwhile was that he knew that he would never go that long without the ritual again. It just wasn't worth it. It made you snap at the smallest thing…

Trouble opened up a channel on his communicator, and after a few minutes of talking was transferred to the fairy he wanted to speak too. "Hey Foaly, you got a second? I've got something to run by you."

"Sure, but make it quick," snapped the centaur. Trouble paused, wondering what had made the centaur so tense. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. One of our operatives was sent for a quick run and hasn't turned on her helmet. There's not much I can do at this end, so just go ahead. If I get a signal, I'll just disconnect the call."

"Thanks," said Trouble flatly.

"No problem," replied the centaur in a more cheerful tone. "Now what can I do for you. Trying to get me to change departments again? 'Cause I'm happy where I am. Unless you'd care to up your offer?"

"That's not it. I'm sure you've been monitoring the chaos that's happening outside your office."

"Well, I have noticed a certain number of incidents that the LEP has failed to quell, yes."

"Don't you find something fishy about it? You are the genius."

"Flattery," said the centaur. "I like it. But I've been following the incidents, but they're all minor infractions that have no logical connection. It's no massive movement of any sort. Everyone's just tense."

Trouble nodded and then realized the centaur couldn't see him. "Yes. That seems to be the case, however what I'd like to know is if there is anyway that the entire city could be drained of magic."

There was a pause on the other end. "The entire city..." murmured Foaly. "Which would explain all the irritability, and everything else…" Trouble could hear some shuffling and electronic noises. "The hospital hasn't been reporting anything unusual, but of course that's where the warlocks are, so it would take longer to affect them."

"Yes, but for what to affect them?" asked Trouble.

"Such impatience," said Foaly. "I'd watch that temper if I were you."

Trouble inhaled deeply, clenching his fists and then releasing them. The centaur continued. "But whatever it is has to be something gradual, otherwise everyone would have noticed the drain on their magic. It has to be something that would cause a small strain on the body, in order to siphon off a few sparks at a time." The centaur whinnied. "Tell you what Major, I'll let you know as soon as I figure out. I've got to make a few calls to confirm my hypothesis. In the meantime, might I suggest warning the rest of the LEP. Now isn't a good time to get injured."

"Will do. Let me know the moment you have any new information." Trouble closed the communication channel and started contacting the rest of those under his command.

Meanwhile, at his office, Foaly sat in front of his computer screens and dialed Caballine's work number. The secretary's voice creaked like chalk as she told him to hold. There was silence for a moment and then the pixie came back on the line sounding bored. "Sorrry… She isn't in today. Would you like me to take a message?"

Foaly hung up without answering. Letting out a worried whinny, he called his wife's personal phone. Caballine picked up after the third ring.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Caballine," he said with relief.

"Foaly, hi. Why didn't you call my work phone? You know I'm not supposed to have a personal communicator back here. If my boss walks in-"

"Are you at work then?" said Foaly quickly.

"Yes, of course I am," she paused. "Why?"

"Because according to your secretary, you're skipping work."

"That's ridiculous. You must have misdialed. Why, I had a lengthy conversation with her this morning about a tiff she and her husband had gotten into. She wouldn't let me go until she had finished relating his exact words no less than seven times. And yes, I counted."

In spite of himself, Foaly couldn't help but crack a smile at her story before pulling himself together.

"Listen," said Foaly. "Has anything unusual happened at work?"

"Ugh," groaned Caballine, "Everyone's quite stressed and the CEO has apparently locked himself in his office. No-one knows why. The strangest thing that's happened lately is all the accidents. I mean- we've always had accidents. Someone accidently locks themselves in the compression room, equipment malfunctions, that sort of thing. But they've been happening so often. It used to be something that only happened once a year and was usually pretty mild. They'd be let out of the room in a matter of seconds and just be dizzy or need a tiny boost of magic. But last week we had five different cases in a row and all of them required a trip to the hospital. Creed Bentley is still being treated. But nobody's called foul play. And there's been a lot of opportunity to do so." She snorted. "I think the company is afraid of legal action, but if Creed doesn't sue after he finishes getting healed, I will."

"And how's the forecast today?"

Caballine was the head technician for Haven's Pressure Control System. The company made sure that the city was at a safe and comfortable air pressure, controlling the climate with technology who's inner workings Foaly could only guess at. It was a carefully guarded secret and even Caballine wouldn't tell him. Most vixing. Occasionally, she guided a team into the massive pipes system that crisscrossed Haven, to repair and replace worn out parts, but mostly she kept an eye on the different pressure pockets and adjusted the settings accordingly. It was as complex a process as controlling the weather.

"Pressure systems are working perfectly," she responded. "Piece of cake. The readings are almost identical to yesterdays'. Heck, if I didn't know any better I'd say they were yesterdays'."

It was then that Foaly realized that Caballine's voice had become slightly strained in the last few sentences.

"But anyway, thanks for calling, but I have to get back to work. Oh, and Foaly? Could you make a reservation to eat at that restaurant we ate at last week. I had such a nice time last time. Didn't you?"

The last restaurant they had eaten at had given him food poisoning.

"Caballine?"

"Hope to talk to you soon! Bye-" she said in a rush. The line went dead.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Foaly forced himself to call the hospital to confirm what she had said before phoning back Trouble Kelp. After a short brisk conversation, he raced out of his office and pounded on Vinaya's door.

She buzzed him in, not taking her eyes off of her desk, as she shuffled through various reports. "Well? Did you hear back from those two yet?" asked Vinaya. "Or do I need to stall longer?"

"I'd cancel that press conference if I were you." He explained the situation.

She pursed her lips. "Is there anyone in the city at this time that still retains any magic? Any at all?"

"By my calculations, some of the more magically inclined will have limited capabilities for a half an hour or more. However, even those with huge reserves are being drained at a similar rate. The warlocks in particular are so occupied with healing the injured that they are running out faster than some elves."

"Is there a place we can move them, to slow down the loss?"

Foaly shook his head. "All of Haven is controlled by the same pressure system. Even homes and business that have so-called private controls are linked to the main system." He took a deep breath. "The only exception is this building, but there isn't enough room-"

"It doesn't matter. We can worry about our security after we get everyone left with magic here safe and sound. Contact the warlocks and offer them a place of sanctuary. Ask them if they know of any other fairies who are similarly gifted and offer them the same."

Foaly imagined all the warlocks, rushing around their hospital, seeing the massive flood of wounded. "I don't think they'll want to leave their patients."

"Don't give them the choice. We're at war now. And our opponent is unknown. At least we do know their intent. Getting the warlocks here is the best chance that we have of a fair fight. Draining all of us of our magic, it's what they want."

"We'll be defenseless," said Foaly, grimly.

"Even the smallest wound could become fatal. We would have to submit. There would be no chance of survival. Though of course, I'm sure you are well aware of what is at stake. Contact the warlocks and keep your frequency open. We don't want to miss Artemis or Holly." She said, drumming her fingers on the desk. "Do you think there's a chance…" she trailed off.

"I'll go check the pressure in the chutes," he said, voicing the thought that had been troubling him.

He turned away, hooves clapping against the floor. Vinaya watched him go, before smoothing down her suit and hair. She stood, rigidly with purpose and contacted the press via video screen. Stealing herself against the onslaught of questions that were bound to come, she pasted a slight smile on her face. The press was a tricky beast best slain through a lack of intrigue.

The reporter was less then pleased to be stood up and even less so at Vinaya's explanation. Upon hearing that the interview was to be cancelled, she could see a flicker of interest in the reporter's face. She quickly followed it up with a story about the shuttle being delayed due to magma flares, which caused the reporter's friendly smile to melted in upon itself. She insisted on rescheduling, which was reluctantly agreed too by Vinaya who ended the communication with a sigh of relief.

Staring blankly at the wall for a long moment she wondered how this had all gotten out of control so quickly. Rubbing her right eye absentmindedly, tucked her communicator in her pocket and hurried towards Foaly's office.

The door was protected by a palm scanner, which she pressed her hand onto and waited while the sensors read her. A metallic chill settled into her skin. The door slid open and she quickly removed her hand, massaging warmth back into it.

Foaly was at his workstation, pulling up data on the screen. Charts and glowing lines of text flashed as he searched for the correct piece of information. As he did so, he spoke without looking away. "The warlocks are sending the most powerful of themselves here, but they refused to send more than a few. N1 should be among them, but the one I spoke too seemed to think he'd be difficult to persuade to leave. He is too dedicated to his work."

"And the chutes?"

"Hard to say. Caballine was correct. All the data has been duplicated from previous days. I had hoped to find something hidden behind a firewall, since it would have been too risky a move to stop all data collection, therefore it must still be collected somewhere. Most likely it's in a closed system in the building the sensors are in."

"So you can't hack into it?"

"Oh, no I can," said the centar grimly. "But someone's been planning this for a very long time boss. There are hundreds of false files I keep running into. It might take all day to locate the correct one."

"Then we must assume that we are no longer safe."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Vinaya watched the data flashing by and pondered the best way to calm the masses. Mass mesmer would be an ideal solution, although an impossible one. Of course, if she was to hold an emergency consul meeting, perhaps an exception could be made…

A channel crackled to life. "Foaly?" came Holly's voice. Foaly had set the computer on speaker. "Brace yourself."

The centaur let out a whinny. Vianaya let out a harsh laugh. "Captain Short, I believe it is far too late for that. What's the situation?"

Holly paused, recognizing the strain in both voices. Then she relayed the situation as quickly as she could.

"So basically, you're telling me that you lost Artemis?"

"I know Artemis. He's too persistent not to turn up at some point." She strictly kept her mind from imagining any other circumstance. "And when he does, I have no method of transporting us to back to the chute. At least no quick way. Besides, I think there's something going on here. Thorn being at the manor doesn't make any sense."

"No," murmured Vinyáya in thought. "It doesn't."

"The important thing is for you to get to Artemis before his family does," said the centaur. "Otherwise it may be difficult to persuade him to leave, and from what you say, being at Fowl manor isn't the safest thing. For _either_ of you."

"I don't think that's going to be possible," said Holly. "He knows I'm here, and if he gets to the gate then the security cameras will pick him up."

Vinyáya, who had her hands clasped together, leaned forward. "Short, I'm going to need you to stay put and report as the situation develops."

"Commander, requesting backup."

"What's the matter?" said Foaly, his voice filled with sarcastic cheer. "Can't deal with a genius and an entire gang of fairies on your own?"

"Request denied Captain. Backup isn't possible at the moment. We've got problems of our own. Someone's hijacked the Pressure Control Center and is using it to drain us all of magic. People are rioting in the streets. The LEP barely has enough faeries trained to keep it under control and once they realize no-one has magic-" She trailed off. The situation spoke for itself. Mass panic.

Holly's breathing hitched. There was a noise as she shifted in the car seat. "One problem solved," she whispered. "Artemis is back." She watched for a moment as he reunited with his parents, but kept herself out of sight. "Commander, do you know who is behind this?"

"Not of yet no."

"Then wouldn't it be wise to consider that these two events may not be separate?"

Foaly, who had completely abandoned his computer, paced back and forth. "It is possible. After all, what is the result of your current predicament? You and Artemis are held captive, at least in theory, and cannot return below ground." He paused and then continued. "Look, Holly. Whether you get him away from there or not, you must stay above. We don't know what the pressure is like in the chutes. You could get ripped apart."

"Of course," said Holly. "Any other good news?"

"That's all we know. Whatever is happening, Short, you are to assess the situation to the best of your ability and decide what is the best course of action. I would simply tell you to stay put until we can provide backup, but knowing you, I would be wasting my breath."

Foaly let out a short chuckle at this, that sounded more like a snort.

"And if it is at all possible, contact us again once you've spoken to Artemis. Even if we cannot have him back in Haven, his brain will have to do."

"Will do, Commander."

"And if there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to call Holly," added Foaly firmly. "Be safe."

"Thanks Foaly."

The line fizzled as Holly shut off communication.

She slipped out of the car, closing the door carefully behind her.

Staring at the broken door, Artemis bent down and picked up a piece of twisted metal. Contemplating what this must mean, he didn't hear Juliet come in behind him. She reached out her hand, hovering over his shoulder, than let her arm fall back at her side.

"Artemis," she prodded gently. "I know that it's been a long day, but we have to go somewhere and talk."

The boy turned and glared at her. His eyes were reddened by the stress that was taking its toll on his body, and his clothing was in shreds. Yet there was still the old spirit of Artemis in there, the one who did impossible things and who, above all, did not fail at any task he put his mind to.

"Do you know where she is?" he demanded, a steely gaze in his eyes.

"No."

"Then we have nothing to discuss." He brushed past her, as Juliet stared at him in shock.

"Artemis _Fowl_," said Butler stepping into the hallway. "Do not speak to my sister that way."

The sight of his bodyguard since birth standing in a doorway, looking down at him with disproval broke through his resolve to find Holly for a moment. He wavered for a moment and then regained confidence.

"I believe it is I who employ you, not the other way around. If you both had not interfered earlier today, perhaps I would now be calm, because I would know that Holly is safe, but since it seems we have an intruder in the manor, I believe that is my first priority."

"Well, if that's the case then perhaps you ought to know that Minerva is controlling your parents with an iron thumb," said Juliet. When he turned around to face her, she continued. "Or that it is likely that Holly has escaped and is now roaming the manor?"

Artemis's mind was racing. Pieces of the puzzle were beginning to snap into place. If another genius had set the playing field, that meant that Holly had to be located at once.

He opened his eyes, not even aware he had closed them.

"Where are the twins?"

Juliet looked at him in horror.

"With Minerva," she whispered. "Playing hide and seek."

He nodded and simply walked to the twin's room, his two bodyguards trailing in his wake. The white paneled door swung open, creaking slightly. Two empty beds and scattered toys were the only things inside. The window was open, the curtains blowing in a slight breeze.

Juliet took a few steps and then stopped short as if shocked. Leaning down she picked up the teddy bear she almost stepped on and hugged it to her chest tightly. Butler had to sit down on Cassie's little bed, the flower bedspread split into two as the bed creaked, attempting to absorb the huge weight.

Artemis calmly walked into the room and walked straight towards the item he had expected to see. He surveyed the small table gravely. On top lay a black and white chessboard, the game already played. The black king had been toppled on its side, the white queen hovering over him victorious. Checkmate, he thought grimly.

Artemis stood there with the toppled king in his palm, feeling as low as he had ever felt before, when a shadow descended over the room. Turning, he looked at the window and saw Holly floating there. A solemn look on her face, her red hair lit by the dying light outside, her mismatched eyes stared at him with a fierce expression on her face and he suddenly felt hopeful in a way he couldn't have imagined feeling a second ago. Both Holly and Artemis failed to notice or to care about the two Butlers who were staring at them in confusion.

Before anyone could say make a move, there was a light clicking sound, at which all the room's occupants turned around and faced the chessboard. The white queen had begun to glow softly and as they watched a beam of light shot out of the queen, raking the plain white wall beside it. An image formed on the projection and Artemis felt his jaw tense.

Amused eyes looked back at him. "Hello, Artemis Fowl. So good of you to join us as last," said Minerva standing calmly in front of a blank wall, her face tilted slightly away from the camera. There was nothing recognizable behind her, save for the two little children sitting on wooden stepstools, their faces pale and drawn.

But it was Juliet who spoke next, not Artemis. "Minerva," she said in a frighteningly calm manner, as the girl looked at her mildly surprised. "When I find you-_and I will_- I'm going to make you regret ever hearing the name Butler."

Minerva looked bored now. "You mean as you are regretting not voicing your suspicions about me to your employer? A bodyguard as useless as you should not make such idle threats."

Foaly frowned as another set of files opened onto the screen.

"What is it?" asked Vinaya, who was pacing back and forth behind him.

"There's a lot of stuff here, but one pattern I'm seeing is references to Gage."

"Do you think he's involved?"

"Possibly. A lot of this information seems to have been changed remotely, but it seems that Gage has been visiting the Pressure Center a great deal lately. And even better yet there's been several clumsy attempts to cover it up."

"There's only one thing I don't understand. Where does Thorn fit into all of this?" asked Artemis.

Now Minerva didn't even attempt to hide her surprise. "The great Artemis Fowl hasn't figured it out? And you call yourself an evil mastermind." Turning fully towards the screen for the first time, Minerva's left cheek was fully visible, as was the angry red streaks running across her skin. Holly let out a gasp of surprise. "Now you see me," Minerva said softly, her form rippling and then it was Thorn looking down at them with undisguised amusement. "Now you don't." The video cut off. The white queen grew dark.


End file.
